A 

GUIDE 

TO  THE 

TEACHING 

OF 
SPELLING 

■ 

Pr<yor  and 
Pittman 


Ra!>«!r;>:un9tMMmti«i« 


A  GUIDE  TO  THE 
TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


Jhg^)C^>^> 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO  •    DALLAS 
ATLANTA  -    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •    BOMBAY  •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


A  GUIDE 


TO    THE 


TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


BY 


HUGH   CLARK   PRYOR 

HBAD    OP    THE    DEPARTMENT    OF    EDUCATION 

NORTHERN  NORMAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL 

ABERDEEN,   SOUTH   DAKOTA 

AND 

MARVIN   SUMMERS   PITTMAN 

PROFESSOR    OF   ELEMENTARY    EDUCATION 

MICHIGAN    STATE    NORMAL  COLLEGE 

YPSILANTI,    MICHIGAN 


Neto  gctft 

THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1921 

AU  righU  retervMl 


PBUfTBD  IN  THE  UNITED  8TATBB  OP  AMEEIOA 


COPYEIGHT,  1911, 

By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 
Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  September,  1921. 


J.  B.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

The  primary  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  help  teachers 
to  improve  the  quality  of  their  teaching  of  spelling. 
While  it  has  been  written  with  the  problems  of  the  in- 
experienced teacher  foremost  in  mind,  it  is  believed 
that  it  may  be  of  substantial  value  to  experienced  teachers 
as  well.  Simplicity  of  expression  and  natural  sequence 
in  arrangement  are  very  important  to  busy,  practical 
teachers.  An  earnest  effort  has  been  made  throughout 
the  book  to  keep  these  factors  in  mind. 

The  authors  wish  to  express  their  appreciation  to  the 
following  persons  for  criticism  and  suggestion :  Frederick 
G.  Bonser,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University ;  J.  T. 
Calhoun,  State  Rural  Schools,  Jackson,  Mississippi ;  J.  A. 
Churchill,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Salem, 
Oregon ;  Frank  L.  Clapp,  University  of  Wisconsin ;  W.  S. 
Dakin,  State  Inspector  of  Schools,  Hartford,  Connecti- 
cut; E.  S.  Evenden,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity; Roland  Fennimore,  Superintendent  of  Schools, 
Bradley  Beach,  New  Jersey;  John  M.  Foote,  Depart- 
ment of  Education,  Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana ;  Ethel  Gal- 
leher.  Western  State  Normal  School,  Kalamazoo,  Michi- 
gan; J.  R.  Grant,  State  Supervisor  of  Rural  Schools, 
Little  Rock,  Arkansas;  C.  C.  Henson,  Isidore  Newman 
Manual  Training  School,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana ;  S.  A. 
Leonard,  Lincoln  School,  New  York  City ;  W.  A.  McCall, 

461616 


vi  PREFACE 

Teachers  College,  Columbia  University;  Charles  M. 
Reinoehl,  Supervisor  of  Rural  Schools,  Department  of 
Public  Instruction,  Helena,  Montana;  E.  N.  Rhodes, 
State  Normal  School,  Salem,  Massachusetts;  W.  W. 
Theisen,  Director  of  Educational  Measurements,  Depart- 
ment of  Public  Instruction,  Madison,  Wisconsin ;  Miss 
Charl  O.Williams,  County  Superintendent,  Shelby  County , 
Memphis,  Tennessee ;  and  the  authors  of  the  many  books 
and  articles  on  spelling  which  have  been  investigated  in 
the  course  of  this  study,  and  which  are  listed  in  the 
bibliography. 


TABLE  OP  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Introductory  Chapter ix 

PART  I  —  FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES 

Chapter  I.  Learning  through  Experiment.  —  A  compari- 
son of  the  method  of  learning  through  repeated  trial 
and  error  with  the  method  of  learning  through  scien- 
tific experiment.  Description  of  some  well-known 
experiments  in  spelling  method.  Summary.  Ques- 
tions and  exercises       . I 

Chapter  II.  The  Psychology  of  Spelling.  —  Learning  as 
connecting.  Application  of  the  law  of  habit  forma- 
tion. The  place  of  interest  and  motivation.  Choice 
of  words.  Nmnber  of  words.  The  recitation  period 
as  a  study  period.  Summary.  Questions  and  exercises      23 

PART    II  — METHODS,    MATERIALS,    AND 
DEVICES 

Foreword 33 

Chapter  I.  Methods  of  Teaching  Spelling.  —  The  Inci- 
dental Method.  The  Test-Drill  Method.  The 
Teaching-Study  Method.  The  Content-Dictation 
Method.    Summary.    Questions  and  exercises  .        .      35 

Chapter  II.     Types  of  Spelling  Books.  —  The  logical  type. 
The  phonetic  type.    The  psychological  or  language 
teaching    type.     The    mixed    type.     Miscellaneous 
types.    Summary.    Questions  and  exercises       .        .      62 
vii 


viii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGB 


Chapter  III.  Standards  by  Which  to  Measure  Spelling 
Books.  —  Usefulness  of  the  words.  Value  of  the  text 
from  the  instructional  and  the  informational  view> 
points.  Provision  for  correct  habit  formation.  Use 
of  phonetic  principles.  Quality  of  devices.  Use  of 
similarities  and  contrasts.  Summary.  Questions  and 
exercises 69 

Chapter  IV.  Special  Lists  and  How  to  Use  Them.  — 
Jones*  "One  Hundred  Spelling  Demons"  —  Pryor's 
"  Suggested  Minimal  Spelling  List. "  Summary.  Ques- 
tions and  exercises 76 

Chapter  V.  Spelling  Lists  Made  by  the  School.  —  The 
Brown  County  Spelling  Book  —  Its  value  in  the  moti- 
vation of  other  work.  Summary.  Questions  and 
exercises 99 

Chapter  VI.  Devices  for  Teaching  Spelling.  —  Devices 
based  on  psychological  principles.  Value  and  danger 
of  games.  Picture  presentation.  Visualizing  the 
words.  Guessing  games.  Rewards  for  success.  Old 
games.  Spelling  matches.  Summary.  Questions  and 
exercises 112 

Chapter  VII.  Some  Questions  Often  Asked  by  Teachers.  — 
The  incorrigible  speller.  The  careless  speller.  Tests, 
when  and  how  to  give  them.  The  use  of  the  dic- 
tionary.   Summary.    Questions  and  exercises    .        .128 

Bibliography 137 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

Is  our  spelling  poor?  Yes,  it  is  poor  but  it  is  not  so 
bad  as  is  ordinarily  supposed.  We  use  a  small  number 
of  words  in  our  writing.  Not  more  than  one  thousand 
are  necessary  to  satisfy  most  of  our  daily  needs.  One 
hundred  of  these  common  words  are  misspelled  many 
more  times,  as  a  group,  than  the  other  nine  hundred; 
so  frequently,  in  fact,  that  Professor  Jones  has  properly 
called  them  the  "One  Hundred  Spelling  Demons." 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some  persons  that  our  fore- 
fathers spelled  better  than  we  do.  This  belief  arose 
from  the  fact  that  a  great  deal  was  said  about  the  good 
spellers  who  won  in  the  old  spelling  bees  and  very  little 
about  the  "ninety  and  nine"  who  were  "spelled  down." 

In  1906  some  old  spelling  examination  papers  which 
had  been  written  in  1846  were  discovered  in  the  attic 
of  one  of  the  school  buildings  in  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts. The  words  were  pronounced  to  the  eighth  grade 
children  and  they  did  much  better  than  their  forefathers 
had  done  sixty  years  before  in  the  same  school.  This 
old  Springfield  list  has  been  pronounced  to  eighth  grade 
children  all  over  the  country,  always,  so  far  as  the  writers 
know,  with  the  same  result :  children  of  the  present 
generation  have  shown  their  superiority  as  spellers  over 
the  Springfield  children  of  1846. 

While  our  shortcomings  have  been   overemphasized, 

ix 


X  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

it  is  nevertheless  true  that  our  spelling  is  poor.  We 
are  poorer  spellers  than  we  ought  to  be  because  we  do  not 
study  intelligently.  We  do  not,  as  we  should,  keep 
the  law  of  habit  formation  clearly  in  mind  in  teaching 
and  learning  spelling. 

A  great  deal  can  be  done  by  the  teacher  to  secure  better 
spelling  by  proper  motivation  of  the  work.  The  words 
selected  should  be  so  closely  connected  with  the  real 
problems  of  daily  life  that  the  child  cannot  fail  to  appre- 
ciate their  usefulness.  While  the  teacher's  judgment 
as  to  what  words  should  be  used  is  better  than  the  child's, 
greater  enthusiasm  and  interest  may  be  aroused  by  having 
the  pupils  help  occasionally  in  making  the  spelling  lists. 

Finally,  if  we  are  to  secure  permanent  improvement, 
we  must  seek  to  develop  in  each  child  a  spelling  con- 
sciousness or  ability  to  detect  errors,  and  a  spelling  con- 
science which  will  not  permit  him  to  pass  by  a  mis- 
spelled word. 

Very  few  teachers  have  a  good  classroom  technique 
in  the  teaching  of  spelling.  As  a  rule,  the  pupils  are 
told  to  "study  the  next  lesson"  and,  too  often,  no  at- 
tempt is  made  to  point  out,  or  to  have  the  pupils  point 
out,  the  pitfalls  to  be  avoided.  It  has  been  found  that 
the  best  results  are  secured  when  the  teacher  studies 
and  plans  the  spelling  lesson  carefully,  in  advance,  and 
leads  the  pupils  to  see  the  difficulties  in  each  word.  As 
a  result  of  various  experiments  that  have  been  made,  the 
modern  teacher  is  able  to  make  spelling  assignments 
more  wisely  than  was  the  teacher  of  even  a  decade  ago. 
In  a  later  chapter,  an  effort  will  be  made  to  explain  some 
of  the  principles  of  good  classroom  procedure. 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  xi 

During  recent  years,  so  many  experiments  have  been 
made,  so  many  spelling  texts  and  lists  have  been  pre- 
pared, and  so  much  of  a  general  nature  has  been  written 
on  the  subject  of  spelling,  that  the  inexperienced  teacher 
may  well  be  confused. 

The  authors  have  attempted  to  evaluate  this  material 
and  to  present,  particularly  to  the  inexperienced  teacher : 
first,  a  simple  interpretation  of  the  best  known  experi- 
ments; second,  a  discussion  of  the  fundamental  psy- 
chological principles  involved  in  the  teaching  of  spell- 
ing; third,  a  review  of  the  best  methods;  fourth,  an 
appraisement  of  the  various  types  of  spelling  texts  that 
are  now  being  used;  fifth,  a  discussion  of  the  various 
lists  which  have  been  made  with  suggestions  as  to  the 
making  of  others;  sixth,  a  classification  and  discus- 
sion of  classroom  devices ;  and  last,  the  answers  to  a  few 
of  the  questions  often  asked  by  teachers. 


A  GUIDE   TO  THE  TEACHING 
OF   SPELLING 

PART  I 

FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES 

CHAPTER  I 

LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT 

There  are  in  general  two  ways  of  acquiring 
better  methods  of  working  —  by  repeated  trial  and 
error  and  by  conscious,  purposeful  experiment.  Both 
have  been  in  use  for  ages,  but  the  former  has  been 
the  more  common.  The  trial  and  error  method  has 
proved  to  be  such  a  wasteful  one  that  it  has  in- 
spired the  saying,  '^Experience  keeps  a  dear  school." 
Scientific  experiment  has  been  used  by  fewer  persons 
because  it  requires  a  clearer  consciousness  of  a 
specific  goal  and  greater  patience,  persistence,  orig- 
inahty,  and  initiative  on  the  part  of  the  user; 
but  it  is  becoming  more  and  more  common  as 
a  method  of  learning  the  right  way  of  doing 
things,  and  the  trial  and  error  method  —  the 
method  of  learning  through  experience  alone  —  is 


'2' 'GUIDE' to" THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

falling  more  and  more  into  disrepute  among  think- 
ing people. 

Teachers  are  a  conservative  folk  and  have  clung 
to  the  old  ways  of  doing  things  longer  than  doctors, 
lawyers,  business  men,  and  people  in  many  walks 
of  life;  they  have  long  learned  through  repeated 
trial  and  error ;  hence,  the  experimental  method  of 
studying  problems  of  teaching  has  had  a  hard  time 
gaining  the^teachers^  favor.  At  last,  however,  educa- 
tion has  come  to  be  recognized  as  a  science  and  even 
the  youngest  teacher  sees  the  benefits  to  be  gained 
through  careful  testing  of  methods  and  of  results. 

The  first  experiments  in  the  field  of  spelling  were 
crude  and  imperfect  in  many  ways,  but  they  should 
be  mentioned  here  because  they  aroused  interest 
and  paved  the  way  for  the  many  helpful  experi- 
ments that  have  been  performed  in  more  recent 
years.  Let  us  consider  a  few  of  the  early  efforts 
along  this  line. 

EXPERIMENTS 

The  first  person  to  do  any  experimental  work 
worthy  of  notice  in  connection  with  spelling  was  a 
physician,  Dr.  J.  M.  Rice.  He  became  interested 
in  education  because  of  his  work  with  children. 
Finally,  he  became  convinced  that  schoolmen  did 
not  know  a  great  deal  about  their  own  work,  that 
they  were  really  proceeding  by  the  use  of  the  trial 
and  error  method,  and  that  they  were  not  in  the 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPBflT])5l55NT.  'Jg> 

habit  of  testing  their  results.  He  decided  to  make 
an  experiment,  and  with  that  experiment  a  new 
era  in  the  teaching  of  spelHng  began. 

Dr.  Rice's  experiment  was  a  test  in  spelling.  In 
1894,  he  made  out  a  Ust  of  words  and  had  them 
pronounced  to  school  children  all  over  the  ,^^^^  j^^ 
country  to  find  out  how  well  they  could  Rice  Con- 
spell.  This  first  test  consisted  of  words  ^^"  ® 
which  were  pronoimced  in  lists.  Dr.  Rice  was  not 
very  well  satisfied  with  the  way  in  which  the  teachers 
conducted  the  tests,  so  he  decided  to  direct  more 
specifically  the  giving  of  the  second  test.  This  time 
he  had  the  teachers  read  sentences  containing  the 
words  to  be  spelled.  Finally,  he  tested  the  pupils' 
abihty  by  having  them  write  compositions  in  which 
the  misspelled  words  were  counted.  He  found  that 
the  pupils  did  better  in  the  second  test  than  in  the 
first  and  in  the  third  than  in  the  second.  It  was  not 
surprising  that  the  best  results  were  obtained  in  the 
last  test  because  the  children  selected  their  own 
words  and,  naturally,  they  chose  only  those  which 
they  were  sure  that  they  could  spell. 

These  tests  were  not  conducted  very  carefully, 
but  they  did  teach  teachers  and  students  of  education 
a  great  deal.  Dr.  Rice  arrived  at  some  very  startling 
conclusions.  He  claimed  that  the  kind  of  school  a 
pupil  attended  had  little  to  do  with  his  spelling  ability, 
that  the  pupils  in  progressive  schools  did  no  better, 
on  the  whole,  than  pupils  in  unprogressive  schools. 


4»  GUIDE '.TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

He  claimed  that  the  child  who  came  from  a  good  home 
did  no  better,  on  the  average,  than  the  child  from  a 
poor  home,  and  that  the  foreign-born  child  spelled 
just  as  well  as  the  native-born  American.  He  said 
that  pupils  learned  no  better  under  one  method  of  in- 
struction than  under  any  other,  and  that  pupils  who 
spent  only  fifteen  minutes  a  day  on  spelling  did  just 
as  well  as  those  who  spent  half  an  hour  or  more.  He 
found  that  the  older  pupils  did  better  than  the  younger 
ones.  The  personality  of  the  teacher  seemed  to 
him  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  pupils'  prog- 
ress in  spelling ;  that  is,  good,  strong  teachers  got 
better  results,  on  the  whole,  than  those  with  weak 
personalities. 

Dr.  Rice's  findings  met  with  a  storm  of  protest, 
opposition,  and  abuse  on  the  part  of  school  people, 
but  he  did  a  great  deal  to  make  them  think,  and 
from  that  time  on  long-established  custom  coimted 
less  and  judicious  experiment  more  in  education. 

Let  us  consider  Dr.  Rice's  conclusions  from  our 
point  of  view.  We  know,  now,  that  pupils  in 
progressive  schools  spell  better  than  those  in 
unprogressive  schools.  We  know  that  the  personal- 
ity of  the  teacher  in  and  of  itself  cannot  produce 
better  results  in  spelling,  except  in  so  far  as  it  makes 
for  greater  satisfaction  and  makes  the  pupil  work 
harder.  Pupils  do  as  well  in  short  periods,  of  fifteen 
minutes  for  example,  as  in  longer  periods.  The 
method  of  teaching  does  have  a  good  deal  to  do  with 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT     5 

the  results.  There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
the  effect  of  age  on  spelling  abihty,  but  the  general 
opinion  is  that  accelerated  pupils,  or  those  ahead 
of  their  grade,  do  best. 

The  next  experimenter  in  spelling  was  Assistant 
Superintendent  0.  P.  Cornman  of  the  Philadelphia 
pubHc  schools.  He  was  of  the  opinion  that  incidental 
the  incidental  method  of  teaching  speUing,  Spelling 
i.e. J  teaching  it  in  connection  with  other  subjects, 
secured  just  as  good  results  as  a  regular  spelling 
drill.  He  compared  the  records  of  many  Philadel- 
phia schools  which  had  used  the  incidental  with  those 
which  had  used  the  drill  method.  He  also  com- 
pared the  records  in  schools  which  had  used  both 
methods.  The  records  for  fifty  schools  for  a  period 
of  three  years  showed  very  httle  advantage  for 
the  drill  method.  Cornman  concluded  that  the 
time  devoted  to  drill  did  not  have  any  great  effect 
on  the  results,  that  the  incidental  method  was  a 
time  saver,  and  that  the  average  teacher  could  get 
no  better  results  than  those  shown  at  Philadelphia 
at  that  time. 

There  are  serious  objections  to  Commands  con- 
clusions. To  begin  with,  the  incidental  method  is 
not  a  time  saver,  because  the  time  is  really  taken 
from  those  other  subjects  with  which  spelling  is 
taught.  The  weak  pupil  suffers  more  than  the  strong 
one  when  the  incidental  method  is  used  because 
of  his  lack  of  initiative  and  independence.    We 


6    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING   OF   SPELLING 

know  now  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  difference  in 
the  kind  of  drill  and  that  good  drill  does  get  good 
results.  The  chances  are  that  the  drill  method 
used  in  Philadelphia  at  that  time  was  not  good.  A 
later  experiment  shows  the  results  to  be  obtained 
by  careful  drill. 

In  1910,  Mr.  J.  E.  W.  WaUin  made  a  study  of  the 
records  of  three  schools  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  a 
Drill  S^^^  ^^^^^  method  was  in  use.     Spelling 

Method  had  been  as  poor  in  Cleveland  as  in  other 
Tested  cities.  Finally,  an  effort  at  reform  was 
made  because  the  public  demanded  it ;  and  a  special 
drill  method  was  worked  out.  The  plan  was  to 
emphasize  two  words  in  each  lesson.  These  words 
were  reviewed  the  following  day  and  again  a  week 
later.  After  eighty  new  words  had  been  taught, 
they  were  reviewed  again  for  a  test.  At  the  end  of 
the  year,  all  new  words  were  reviewed  for  the 
annual  spelling  contest.  The  next  year  they  were 
taken  up  in  connection  with  new  words.  Al- 
together, each  word  was  presented  five  times  in 
two  years.  This  method  has  made  Cleveland 
famous  for  the  spelling  ability  of  her  children. 

Mr.  WaUin  wished  to  get  light  on  five  questions : 
(1)  "What  has  the  age  of  the  pupil  to  do  with  spell- 
ing ability?''  (2)  "What  is  the  spelling  ability  of 
boys  as  compared  with  girls?"  (3)  "Do  pupils 
learn  spelling  more  easily  in  one  grade  than  in 
another?"     (4)  "Do  pupils  spell  as  well  when  they 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT     7 

write  words  in  sentences  as  they  do  when  the  words 
are  pronounced  separately?"  (5)  "How  does  the 
incidental  method  of  spelling  compare  in  efficiency 
with  the  drill  method?" 

He  concluded  that  "on  time"  pupils  spelled 
better  than  those  who  were  behind  or  ahead  of  their 
grades ;  that  is,  normal  fifth  grade  or  fourth  grade 
or  sixth  grade  pupils  spelled  better,  as  a  rule,  than 
those  who  were  retarded  or  accelerated.  Girls 
spelled  better  than  boys  in  most  cases.  Words 
were  spelled  almost  as  well  when  they  were  written 
in  sentences  as  when  they  were  written  by  them- 
selves. Wallin's  greatest  discovery  was  that  good 
drill  made  for  better  spelling  than  the  incidental 
method  of  teaching. 

This  experiment  was  conducted  much  more  care- 
fully than  either  Rice's  or  Commands  and  is  much 
more  trustworthy.  It  is  generally  agreed,  now, 
that  the  drill  method  is  better  because  it  requires 
closer  attention  to  the  work  being  done.  Teaching 
spelling  in  connection  with  reading,  language,  and 
other  subjects  scatters  the  attention  and  cannot 
fix  very  good  spelling  habits. 

The  drill  and  incidental  methods  of  teaching  are 
general.     Many  experiments  have  been  performed 
to  test  specific  methods  of  teaching.    For  value  of 
example,  homonyms,  such  as  to,  too,  and  Grouping 
two;  heat  and  heet,  choir  and  quire,  present  a  puz- 
zling problem.     Should  they  be  taught  together  or 


8    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

separately  ?  Principal  H.  C.  Pearson  of  the  Horace 
Mann  School  in  New  York  City  decided  that  he 
would  find  out.  In  1911  he  made  some  careful 
tests  and  found  that  all  grades  except  the  fifth  in 
his  school  did  better  when  the  words  were  taught 
together.  Another  experiment,  in  one  of  the  Mont- 
clair,  New  Jersey,  schools,  showed  that  all  except 
the  fifth  and  seventh  grades  did  better  when  the 
homonyms  were  taught  together.  More  proof  is 
needed  before  the  question  can  be  decided. 

The  method  of  teaching  homonyms  separately 
seems  to  be  most  generally  accepted  among  teachers. 
If  confusion  results,  as  in  the  case  of  hare  and  hear^ 
or  other  homonyms,  Bagley  suggests  that,  in  order 
to  break  up  the  bad  habits,  it  is  ^'necessary  to  bring 
the  mechanical  process  into  the  focus  of  conscious- 
ness and  then  replace  it  with  another  process." 

Studley  and  Ware,  authors  of  "  Common  Essentials 
in  Spelling,''  are  of  the  opinion  that  homonyms 
should  be  taught  separately.  Thorndike,  one  of 
the  greatest  authorities  on  matters  of  this  sort,  is 
not  sure  whether  homonyms  should  be  taught  to- 
gether or  separately. 

Some  authors  of  spelling  books  group  words. 
Grouping  homonyms  seems  logical  from  the  results 
of  the  experiments  just  described,  but  should  we 
use  other  schemes  for  grouping?  For  example, 
should  words  like  linear,  lineage,  lineal,  lineament  be 
grouped  together  in  a  textbook?    C.  H.  Wagner 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT     9 

tried  out  this  plan  and  found  that  pupils  improved 
much  more  rapidly  when  the  spelling  words  were 
grouped  than  when  no  such  device  was  used.  An- 
other scheme  is  to  group  words  around  some  common 
interest ;  for  example,  names  of  flowers,  of  rivers,  of 
mountains,  of  agricultural  products,  or  of  birds. 
This  seems  to  produce  better  results  than  jumbling 
unrelated  words  together  in  the  same  list.  The 
first  grouping  scheme  must  be  helpful  because 
there  are  more  repetitions  of  the  same  element  than 
would  be  the  case  if  the  words  were  in  separate 
lessons,  and  this  fixes  the  correct  spelling  habit. 
When  the  second  scheme  of  grouping  is  used, 
the  pupiPs  interest  is  aroused  and  he  gives  closer 
attention.  We  know  that  this  produces  better 
results. 

The  kind  of  method  to  be  used  depends  on  a  great 
many  different  things.  One  cannot  teach  primary 
pupils  in  the  same  way  that  intermediate  or 
grammar  grade  pupils  are  taught.  Boys  cannot 
always  be  taught  in  the  same  way  as  girls.  Johnnie 
cannot  always  be  taught  in  the  same  way  as  Henry ; 
and,  in  fact,  Johnnie  himself  cannot  always  be 
taught  in  the  same  way  to  secure  the  best  results. 
The  teacher  must  study  her  pupils  and  decide 
for  herself  what  method  is  needed  to  fit  each 
case.  More  will  be  said  about  methods  later  on, 
however,  and  the  subject  need  only  be  mentioned 
here. 


10    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

Another  question  which  often  troubles  the  teacher 
is  this :  Should  words  be  spelled  orally  or  written  ? 
Written  us  ^^i^ng  the  word  "in  the  air"  with  the 
Oral  finger  cannot  have  much  value  because 

^®  ^^  the  pupil  cannot  see  what  he  has  done. 
According  to  Horn,  going  through  the  form  of 
writing  on  the  top  of  the  desk  or  on  paper  has  been 
found  to  be  better.  The  best  plan  of  all  is  to  have 
the  pupils  actually  write.  Young  pupils  have  con- 
siderable difficulty  with  the  writing  itself,  so  it  is 
better  for  them  to  use  the  oral  method  until  they 
have  learned  to  write  without  having  to  worry- 
about  the  form  of  the  letters.  No  doubt  some  pupils 
learn  best  by  writing,  others  by  spelling  orally,  and 
others  by  seeing  words  written.  Just  which  way  is 
best  must  be  worked  out  for  each  pupil.  Since  we 
spell  words  more  frequently  when  we  are  writing 
than  at  any  other  time,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  all 
pupils  begin  writing  as  early  as  possible. 

How  shall  the  words  be  presented?  Dr.  J.  W. 
Baird  of  Clark  University  performed  some  experi- 
ments to  determine  the  best  way  to  present  speUing 
words.  It  was  found  that  when  words  were  only 
pronounced,  6.48  per  cent  were  misspelled;  when 
heard  and  spelled  aloud  by  the  pupil,  4.66  per  cent 
were  misspelled ;  when  they  had  simply  been  shown 
to  the  pupil,  2.60  per  cent  were  misspelled;  when 
they  had  been  seen  and  spelled  aloud  by  the  pupil, 
2.27  per  cent  were  misspelled ;  and  when  they  had 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT  11 

been  seen,  used,  spelled,  and  written  by  the  pupil, 
1.00  per  cent  were  misspelled.  This  shows  that 
the  greater  the  number  of  associations  formed,  the 
better  the  pupil  learns.  In  cases  where  the  word 
has  been  seen,  used,  spelled,  and  written,  the  word 
and  its  sound,  its  meaning,  its  visual  image,  and 
the  muscular  sensation  of  writing  it,  are  all  con- 
nected or  associated.  As  has  been  said,  some  pupils 
learn  more  readily  by  one  method  than  another. 
It  is  well  to  help  the  individual  to  find  just  which 
method  is  best  for  him  to  use  and  to  let  him  use  it. 
The  satisfaction  which  results  makes  the  learning 
easier.  The  teacher  should  encourage  learning 
through  the  different  senses. 

No  doubt,  the  teacher  often  wonders  how  she 
should  emphasize  difficult  letters  or  parts  so  as  to 
make  sure  that  the  pupils  will  not  mis-  special 
spell  them.     How  should  the  first  "a"  in  Emphasis 
separate  be  impressed  on  the  pupil's  mind  ?  part  of 
Different   devices   have   been   suggested,  ^^'^ 
such  as  writing  it  in  red  or  some  other  color,  insert- 
ing a  capital  "A,"  writing  the  letter  more  heavily 
than  the  otheVs,  or  doing  something  else  to  make  it 
stand  out  clearly.    W.  T.  Taylor  thought  of  writing 
a  spelling  book  with  all  the  "crucial  letters,"  as 
he  called  them,  printed  in  red.    He  tried  out  his 
plan  by  having  one  group  of  pupils  study  lists  of 
words  printed  in  ordinary  black  type,  and  another 
group  study  the  same  Hsts  with  troublesome  letters 


12    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

printed  in  red,  nothing  being  said  about  the  purpose 
of  the  red  letters.  The  pupils  who  used  the  black 
lists  did  better  than  the  others.  Such  a  device  is 
not  particularly  valuable  because  we  cannot  pick  out 
the  letter  or  group  of  letters  which  cause  difficulty 
to  all  pupils.  The  first  "a''  in  separate  may  cause 
difficulty  to  one  pupil  while  another  will  have  no 
difficulty  with  "a^^  and  make  an  error  in  another 
part  of  the  word. 

Do  rules  help  in  the  teaching  or  learning  of 
spelling?  Rules  are  nearly  always  too  difficult  for 
Value  of  elementary  pupils  to  apply  because  they 
Rules  cover  relatively  few  words  and  there  are 
many  exceptions.  Naturally,  they  do  help  if  the 
pupil  knows  the  rule  and  remembers  to  which  words 
it  applies.  A  common  example  is  the  rule  for  the 
use  of  ie  and  ei;  "^  before  e,  except  after  c,  or 
when  sounded  like  a  as  in  neighbor  and  weigh.'' 
There  are  so  many  things  to  think  of  in  the  appli- 
cation of  this  rule  and  it  is  so  easy  to  forget,  that  it 
seems  more  economical  to  spend  the  time  needed 
to  fix  the  habit  of  using  the  rule  in  the  learning  of 
spelling  words.  Cook  and  O'Shea,  Suzzallo,  and 
other  authorities  agree  on  this  point. 

Will  the  adoption  of  simplified  spelling  help? 
During  the  past  decade  in  particular,  there  has 
Simplified  been  a  great  increase  in  the  interest  in 
Spelling  simplified  spelling.  There  has  been  a 
great  deal  of  controversy  regarding  the  question 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT  13 

as  to  whether  simphfied  spelling  will  really  help 
much  in  doing  away  with  our  spelling  diflSculties. 
Some  authorities  say  that  it  will,  but  they  are 
contradicted  by  others  whose  opinions  have  just 
as  much  weight.  Miss  Shaw,  who  has  made  a 
study  of  the  problem,  says  that  "  simplified  spelling 
has,  for  the  present  generation  at  least,  greatly 
increased  bad  spelling/'  It  has  been  argued  by 
some  persons  that  simplified  spelling  would  make  the 
learning  of  our  language  easier  for  foreigners  be- 
cause so  many  of  them,  especially  the  southern 
Europeans,  have  a  phonetic  language.  A  distin- 
guished American  scholar  of  foreign  bu*th,  speaking 
for  foreigners  in  general,  has  advanced  the  opinion 
that  an  extensive  simplification  of  our  spelling,  while 
lightening  the  burden  of  spelling  and  pronunciation, 
might  so  obscure  the  historic  roots  of  many  words 
as  greatly  to  increase  the  student's  difficulty  in 
gaining  their  meaning.  Our  spelling  has  never 
been  consistent,  but  it  has  been  improving  for 
many  years.  Such  authorities  as  Benjamin  Ide 
Wheeler  and  Professor  Brander  Matthews  believe 
that,  as  a  rule,  our  peculiarly  spelled  words  should 
be  spelled  more  simply  than  they  are.  Most 
teachers  agree  with  them. 

Let  us  consider  a  concrete  case.  The  simphfied 
form  of  through  is  ^'  thru  J  ^  What  would  be  the  effect 
of  introducing  the  new  form  unless  it  were  used 
in  all  books,   newspapers,  and   other  periodicals? 


14    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

There  would  be  a  great  confusion  because  school 
children  who  are  learning  to  .spell  would  be  meeting 
both  forms.  They  would  not  be  sure  which  one  to 
use  and  would  use  them  interchangeably  or,  perhaps, 
use  even  a  ''cross"  between  the  two.  We  must  re- 
member that  through  is  not  the  only  word  for  which  a 
simplified  form  is  suggested ;  there  are  hundreds  of 
others  and  the  confusion  would  be  multiplied  by  the 
number  of  simplified  spellings  introduced.  Simpli- 
fication is  desirable,  but  why  should  it  not  be  intro- 
duced gradually  as  it  has  been  in  the  past  instead  of 
by  a  sudden  general  reform?  If  a  few  simplified 
forms  were  introduced  at  a  time,  teachers  would  be 
able  to  fix  the  right  spelling  habits  and  to  watch 
for  evidence  of  backsliding. 

So  far  the  evidence  for  or  against  simplified  spell- 
ing has  been  on  the  side  of  experience.  Little  experi- 
mental work  of  a  serious  nature  has  been  done.  We 
must  have  experiments  to  test  the  assertions  which 
we  have  been  making  so  strenuously  before  we  can 
go  ahead  safely  with  our  simplification  of  words. 

Does  it  help  to  syllabify  words  which  the  pupil 
is  to  learn  to  spell? 

A  good  many  spelling  books  make  use  of  this 
device  by  printing  the  words  in  syllables,  thus  appeal- 
,  ing  to  the  children  who  get  their  impres- 
Syiiabi-  sions  mainly  through  the  eye.  Several 
cation  persons  have  tried  to  find  out  by  experi- 
ment just  how  helpful  this  method  is.    Miss  Abbott 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT  15 

found  it  helpful  to  adults.  Professor  Heilman  of 
the  Colorado  State  Teachers'  College  tried  the 
experiment  of  having  one  division  each  of  the  fourth, 
fifth,  and  seventh  grades  study  syllabified  words 
while  the  other  division  studied  unsyllabified  words. 
He  gave  three  tests  to  discover  the  progress  of  the 
children  and  found  that  syllabication  helped  the 
fourth  graders  most  and  the  seventh  grade  pupils 
least.  An  experiment  by  Professor  Horn  of  the 
University  of  Iowa  did  not  show  any  advantage 
for  this  kind  of  syllabif3dng. 

Clear  pronunciation,  which  means  enunciating  each 
syllable  clearly  and  correctly,  helps  toward  correct 
spelling.  This  is  especially  true  of  words  in  which 
the  pronunciation  is  a  key.  It  hardly  seems  possible 
that  the  pronunciation  could  be  of  much  assistance  in 
the  speUing  of  such  words  as  thoroughj  rough,  cough, 
slough,  and  the  hke.  However,  in  many  words  the 
spelling  is  made  easier  by  the  pronunciation.  These 
are  the  phonetic  words  which  are  spelled  just  as  they 
sound  and  words  with  few  or  no  silent  letters.  The 
spelling  of  words  containing  the  syllables  or,  er,  both 
pronounced  alike,  and  words  containing  the  syllables 
e,  ea,  ei,  eo,  ay,  ai,  and  a,  all  pronounced  like  e,  is  not 
helped  much  by  pronunciation.  The  sound  sh,  in  the 
words  sure,  ship,  conscience,  suspicion,  ocean,  nation, 
anxious,  is  not  differentiated  as  to  its  spelling  by 
the  most  careful  pronunciation.  But  careless  pro- 
nunciation never  helped  any  one. 


16    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

A  helpful  way  in  which  to  make  use  of  syllabication 
is  to  have  the  words  separated  into  syllables  after 
they  are  pronounced  by  the  pupil. 

Should  spelling  be  studied  in  the  classroom  or 
outside  ? 

It  was  the  custom  for  a  long  time  for  the  teacher 
to  make  the  assignment  after  the  lesson  for  the  day 
Super-  was  recited  and  to  leave  the  pupils  to 
vised  vs.  prepare  their  lesson  by  themselves  as  well 
vised  as  they  could,  either  at  home  or  in  school. 

Study  ^  gQQj  many  teachers  still  do  this  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is  a  wasteful  method.  The 
teacher  always  knows  more  about  the  difficulties 
to  be  overcome  in  a  spelling  lesson  than  the  pupils 
do.  She  is  not  doing  her  part  if  she  does  not  make  a 
careful  assignment  of  the  lesson,  showing  the  pupils 
just  what  they  should  look  out  for  and  telling  them 
how  to  overcome  the  difficulties.  A  good  assign- 
ment leaves  the  child  well  started  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  lesson. 

Mr.  Pearson  of  the  Horace  Mann  School  made  an 
experiment  to  find  out  which  was  the  better  way  to 
study.  Each  grade  was  divided  into  two  classes. 
The  pupils  in  one  class  studied  by  themselves  in 
school  or  at  home.  Those  in  the  other  class  studied 
in  school  under  the  teacher^s  supervision.  In 
eight  cases  out  of  ten,  the  supervised  study  proved 
the  more  helpful. 

No  doubt  the  reader  is  wondering  by  this  time 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT  17 

what  IS  the  best  method  to  use.    There  are  many 
methods  which  have  been  tried  out  more  or  less 
thoroughly  but  we  cannot  say  that  there  value  of 
is  a  method.    Professor  Charters  says  that  Emphasiz- 

Jjjor  the 

the  function  of  spelling  teaching  is  to  help  order  of 
the  child  to  form  the  habit  of  writing  the  ^^  Letters 
letters  in  their  correct  order  in  words.  There  is  no 
one  who  would  not  agree  with  this  proposition. 
Since  it  is  true,  we  must  use  all  methods  to  this  end. 
While  it  is  necessary  to  adapt  our  methods  to  the 
age  of  the  child,  to  the  kind  of  words  which  are  being 
taught,  to  the  same  pupil  at  different  times,  and  to 
different  individuals,  we  must  keep  in  mind,  all  the 
time,  the  importance  of  writing  the  letters  in  the 
right  order  in  any  word. 

One  of  the  writers  of  this  text  made  an  experiment 
several  years  ago  to  determine  the  effect  of  having 
pupils  notice  carefully  the  exact  order  of  the  letters 
in  each  of  the  words  to  be  learned.  Two  fifth 
grades  in  Boulder,  Colorado,  were  selected,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Superintendent,  for  the  purpose 
of  the  experiment.  The  teachers  were  of  nearly 
equal  abihty  so  far  as  the  Superintendent  was  able 
to  judge.  The  children  in  the  two  rooms  were  of 
about  the  same  type,  coming  from  good  homes  in 
the  most  desirable  sections  of  the  city.  They  were 
of  about  the  same  general  abihty  so  far  as  scholar- 
ship is  concerned.  It  was  found  that  one  grade 
had  an  average  in  scholarship  for  the  first  quarter 


18    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

of  82.52  per  cent  and  the  other  an  average  of  82.13 
per  cent.  Neither  children  nor  teachers  knew  that 
an  experiment  was  being  performed  until  it  was 
almost  completed,  when  one  of  the  teachers  learned 
what  was  being  done  and  was  told  the  purpose  of  the 
experiment. 

The  first  class  mentioned  above  will  be  called 
"5A"  and  the  second  ''5B."  Both  classes  were 
taught  the  same  words.  "5A"  was  taught  in  the 
usual  manner,  "5B"  was  taught  to  notice  very 
carefully  the  order  of  the  letters  in  the  different 
words.  The  children  in  "5B'^  were  asked  to  write 
their  words,  always,  during  the  daily  spelling  lesson. 
The  words  were  always  pronounced  clearly,  and 
written  on  the  board  in  syllables  by  the  teacher. 
She  always  spelled  by  syllables  as  she  wrote.  Dur- 
ing the  assignments  emphasis  was  placed  on  the 
following  points : 

(1)  Silent  letters,  double  letters,  vowels  having  the 
same  sound,  as  in  or  and  er. 

(2)  Common  parts  in  different  words. 

(3)  Difficult  combinations  of  letters. 

(4)  Difference  in  pronunciation  of  such  prefixes  as  il, 
el,  al,  ol,  em  and  im,  en  and  in, 

(5)  Trying  to  recall  how  words  were  spelled  after  they 
had  been  erased. 

(6)  Each  pupil  was  to  study  in  whatever  way  seemed 
best  to  him ;  that  is,  he  learned  by  looking  at  the  words 
on  the  board,  by  spelling  them  silently,  by  writing  them, 
or  by  a  combination  of  these  methods. 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT  19 

The  teacher  was  cautioned  against : 

(1)  Mispronouncing  a  word  to  give  the  pupil  an  idea 
as  to  how  it  should  be  spelled. 

(2)  Using  rules. 

(3)  Mentioning  possible  mistakes  such  as  the  use  of  e 
in  the  word  separate. 

(4)  Running  over  time. 

(5)  Making  home  assignments. 

A  list  of  words  from  those  to  be  studied  was  pro- 
nounced to  both  groups  of  children  before  the 
experiment  began.  The  children  in  "5A"  averaged 
50.55  per  cent  and  those  in  "5B"  averaged  48.58 
per  cent.  The  advantage  to  begin  with  was  with 
"5A."  At  the  end  of  six  weeks  another  test  was 
given.  The  same  words  were  used  because  the 
author  wished  to  find  just  how  much  the  children 
had  improved.  This  time  "5A^'  averaged  83.39  per 
cent  and  "5B'^  averaged  89.14  per  cent.  "5A''  had 
gained  32.84  per  cent  while  "5B"  had  gained  40.56 
per  cent  or  7.72  per  cent  more.  This  seemed  fairly 
good  proof  that  adhering  to  a  good  method  had 
been  beneficial  to  "5B.''  Another  fact  which  was 
noticed  was  that  there  was  less  variation  among 
the  pupils  in  "5B"  after  the  six  weeks'  work  than 
there  was  among  the  pupils  of  "5A.''  The  work  in 
"5B"  had  been  of  more  benefit  to  the  poorest  pupils 
than  had  that  in  "5A.'' 

During  this  test  a  careful  record  of  attendance 
was  kept  for  the  two  groups.    Those  in   '^5B" 


20    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING   OF  SPELLING 

averaged  6.5  days'  absence,  while  those  in  '^5A'' 
averaged  only  2.7  days'  absence.  This  was  another 
evidence  of  the  value  of  the  method  since  it  helped 
the  pupils  who  had  been  absent  a  greater  length  of 
time  to  make  a  better  record. 

Summary 

The  two  common  ways  of  learning  better  methods  have 
been  by  repeated  trial  and  error  and  by  scientific  experi- 
ment. On  account  of  their  conservatism,  teachers  have 
clung  to  the  former  method  longer  than  persons  in  other 
occupations,  but  the  experimental  method  is  gaining  ground. 

The  first  experiments  in  education  were  crude,  and 
spelling  was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  Dr.  Rice  did  con- 
siderable experimenting  in  spelling  and  discovered  some 
startling  facts.  He  was  criticized  and  abused  by  con- 
servative educators  but  his  work  resulted  in  an  interest 
in  the  experimental  method. 

Cornman  believed  that  as  good  results  could  be  obtained 
by  teaching  spelling  in  connection  with  other  subjects, 
incidentally,  as  by  drill.  His  experience  showed  only  a 
slight  advantage  for  the  drill  method. 

Mr.  Wallin,  who  made  a  much  more  careful  study  of  the 
drill  method  in  use  in  the  Cleveland,  Ohio,  schools,  found 
it  much  more  effective  than  the  incidental  method.  He 
found,  also,  that  normal  pupils  spell  better  than  those 
who  are  accelerated  or  retarded ;  that  girls,  as  a  rule,  spell 
better  than  boys;  that  words  are  spelled  almost  as  well 
when  they  are  written  in  sentences  as  when  written 
separately.  i 

A  good  many  experiments  have  been  made  to  solve 
special  problems  in  the  teaching  of  spelling.  Pearson 
and  others  found  that  it  was  a  httle  better  to  teach 


LEARNING  THROUGH  EXPERIMENT  21 

homonyms  together  than  to  teach  them  separately. 
Other  authorities  differ  in  opinion.  We  need  more 
evidence  before  we  can  say  just  which  method  should  be 
used. 

Wagner  found  that  grouping  words  containing  similar 
elements  resulted  in  better  spelling. 

Young  pupils  spell  better,  orally,  than  when  they  write, 
because  in  writing  they  have  to  think  about  the  formation 
of  the  letters.  It  is  wise,  however,  to  introduce  written 
spelling  at  an  early  age  because  it  is  more  common  than 
oral  spelling. 

Taylor  found  that  having  difficult  letters  of  words 
printed  in  colors  did  not  help  pupils  to  spell  these  words 
correctly.  Such  a  device  has  little  value,  because  it  is 
impossible  to  pick  out  the  parts  of  words  which  cause 
difficulty  to  all  pupils. 

Authorities  agree  that  it  is  better  to  spend  the  time 
in  fixing  the  correct  spelhng  habit  than  in  trying  to  teach 
the  pupil  to  spell  words  by  rule. 

There  is  considerable  difference  of  opinion,  but  no  real 
experimental  proof,  regarding  the  value  of  simplified 
spelling.  There  is  no  good  reason  why  our  spelling  should 
not  be  much  better  without  simplification.  Simphfication 
might  result  in  confusion  unless  introduced  gradually. 

Syllabication  of  words  in  script  or  print  makes  learning 
easier,  as  a  rule.  Pronouncing  by  syllables  is  helpful  to 
the  pupil. 

It  has  been  shown  by  experiment  that  study  supervised 
by  the  teacher  is  more  helpful  than  unsupervised  study. 

We  cannot  say  that  there  is  a  method  of  teaching 
spelling.  There  are  many  useful  methods.  One  of  the 
authors  has  demonstrated,  experimentally,  that  emphasiz- 
ing the  correct  order  of  letters  in  words  results  in  better 
spelhng.     All  methods  must  be  adapted  to  this  end. 


22    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Name  five  persons  who  have  made  investigations 
or  conducted  experiments  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
better  methods  of  teaching  speUing.  What  was  the  dis- 
tinct contribution  made  by  each? 

2.  Which  experiments  discussed  in  this  chapter  might 
you  helpfully  repeat  in  your  school  ? 

3.  What  are  the  benefits  which  you  would  derive  from 
personally  conducting  experiments  to  help  find  out  good 
methods  of  teaching  spelling? 

4.  Plan  with  three  of  your  friends  who  teach  the  same 
grade  that  you  do,  to  conduct  a  spelling  investigation  for 
a  month  and  then  compare  your  results  with  theirs. 

5.  How  can  you  test  your  pupils  to  see  to  what  extent 
the  difficulties  of  penmanship  lessen  their  ability  in 
spelling? 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SPELLING 

It  has  been  said  that  the  psychologist  is  a  person 
who  tells  what  everyone  knows  in  language  which 
nobody  understands.  This  must  be  the  reason  why 
some  teachers  become  alarmed  when  they  read  the 
word  '' psychology ''  in  a  title. 

The  authors  realize  that  they  run  a  degree  of 
risk  in  introducing  a  chapter  on  psychology,  but  it 
is  necessary  that  every  teacher  should  have  Leamin 
in  mind  some  of  the  fundamental  psycho-  is  Con- 
logical  principles  if  she  is  to  make  a  success  °®^*^s 
of  teaching.    An  attempt  will  be  made  to  use  only 
such  psychological  terms  and  illustrations  as  any 
studious  teacher  can  grasp. 

Professor  Thorndike  of  Columbia  University  says 
"Learning  is  connecting,  and  man  is  the  great 
learner  primarily  because  he  forms  so  many  con- 
nections." These  connections  or  bonds  of  which 
he  speaks  are  made  in  the  nervous  system.  They 
are  formed  whenever  a  child  or  an  adult  or  any  ani- 
mal which  has  a  nervous  system  learns  something. 
The  connection  may  be  between  some  situation  out- 


24    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING   OF  SPELLING 

side  the  individual  such  as  2X2=1  on  the  black- 
board and  the  response  4  in  the  individuaFs  mind ; 
it  may  be  between  the  thought  of  the  word  separate 
which  one  wishes  to  spell  and  the  correct  writing  of 
the  word;  or  simply  the  thought  of  the  correct 
spelling.  There  are  many  different  kinds  of  con- 
nections between  situations  and  responses,  both 
inside  and  outside  the  classroom.  A  boy  sees  a 
baseball  and  thinks  of  the  game,  or  he  hears  the 
school  bell  and  thinks,  "Well,  it  is  time  to  stop  play- 
ing marbles  and  learn  that  pesky  geography  lesson.'' 
The  girl  sees  the  dinner  table  after  the  family  meal 
and  the  sight  suggests  the  distasteful  task  of  dish- 
washing, or  she  sees  a  display  of  hair  ribbons  and, 
forthwith,  she  thinks  of  the  beautiful  hair  ribbon 
she  received  as  a  present  on  her  last  birthday.  In 
these  cases,  seeing  the  baseball,  hearing  the  school 
bell,  seeing  the  dishes,  or  the  display  of  ribbon,  might 
have  led  to  different  responses.  This  is  too  fre- 
quently the  case  in  spelling.  Johnnie  hears  the 
word  separate  pronounced  and  he  may  write  it 
seperate,  seprate,  seprat,  sepert,  or  in  any  of  a  dozen 
different  ways.  In  each  case  he  has  the  wrong 
response  to  the  situation,  although  the  situation  has 
not  changed. 

This  is  where  the  work  of  the  teacher  comes  in  ; 
it  is  her  duty  to  see  that  Johnnie  makes  the  correct 
response  every  time,  and  that,  finally,  this  response 
becomes  automatic.    She  should  make  sure  that 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SPELLING  25 

no  pupil  has  too  much  to  learn  or  she  will  defeat 
the  purpose  of  the  spelling  lesson.  She  should  mo- 
tivate the  work,  or  make  it  so  interesting  that  the 
child  will  want  to  learn,  and  she  should  make  such 
clear  assignments  and  direct  the  study  of  them  in 
such  a  way  that  improvement  will  be  easy. 

Professor  Bagley  in  his  "Classroom  Management^' 
states  a  very  important  law  of  psychology  in  a  very 
concise  way.  This  is  the  law  of  habit  for- 
mation:  "FocaHzation  of  consciousness  of  Habit 
upon  the  process  to  be  automatized,  plus  ^®"^^**°^ 
attentive  repetition  of  this  process,  permitting  no 
exceptions  until  automatism  results."  This  law 
is  so  important  in  the  formation  of  correct  habits 
of  any  kind  that  its  application  needs  to  be  made 
perfectly  clear.  Let  us  see  how  it  applies  to  spelling. 
Suppose  we  have  some  particularly  difficult  word  to 
teach.  To  begin  with,  the  pupils  must  give  the 
best  attention.  All  disturbing  influences  must  be 
shut  out  and  the  word  to  be  learned  must  be  in  the 
center  of  the  field  of  attention.  The  teacher  picks 
out  the  difficult  parts,  one  at  a  time,  and  emphasizes 
the  correct  forms.  This  is  "  f ocalization  of  conscious- 
ness on  the  process  to  be  automatized.''  The  class 
or  the  individual  pupil  is  called  upon  to  repeat, 
attentively,  the  correct  form.  This  fulfills  the 
second  part  of  the  law.  There  is  a  Httle  danger  that 
this  part  of  the  process  may  be  continued  too  long ; 
that  is,  that  the  pupil  may  waste  his  time  in  over- 


26    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

learning.  Professor  Thorndike  thinks  that  this 
result  need  not  be  feared.  We  must  be  sure,  how- 
ever, that  the  word  is  repeated  often  enough  to  in- 
sure correct  spelling  at  all  times ;  and  the  task  does 
not  end  here.  Teachers  must  be  constantly  on  the 
alert  to  guard  against  mistakes  in  order  that  they 
may  be  prevented  or  corrected.  ^^  Permitting  no 
exceptions  to  occur"  is  just  as  important  as  making 
a  good  start.  If  incorrect  forms  are  permitted  to 
creep  in  after  the  word  has  been  correctly  learned, 
bad  spelling  habits  compete  with  the  correct  one 
and  the  teacher  cannot  be  sure  which  habit  will 
"come  out  on  top." 

Let  us  illustrate  the  application  of  the  law  of 
habit  formation  in  another  way.  Suppose  the 
teacher  is  teaching  the  word  February.  This  word 
is  often  misspelled  because  it  is  mispronounced, 
Fehuary.  The  teacher  should  pronounce  the  word 
carefully,  "Feb'-ru-a-ry,"  so  that  every  syllable 
receives  its  value.  If  this  is  done,  the  word  is 
half  learned  because  every  letter  except,  perhaps,  y, 
stands  out  so  clearly  that  the  child  ought  to  be  able 
to  spell  this  word  correctly.  Some  child  who  is 
sure  of  the  spelling  might  be  called  upon  to  spell 
the  word  at  this  time.  This  would  help  the  child 
who  learns  best  by  hearing.  Then  the  teacher  might 
write  or  have  some  child  write  the  word  on  the 
board,  pronouncing  and  spelling  it  by  syllables,  thus 
helping  the  visualizers.     Children  who  learn  best 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SPELLING  27 

by  spelling  the  word  to  themselves,  or  by  writing, 
should  be  encouraged  to  use  either  of  these  methods 
of  learning.  The  word  is  presented  to  the  children 
in  several  different  ways;  and  some  will  make 
use  of  each  way  of  learning.  It  is  good  psychology 
to  proceed  in  this  manner  because  one  learns  best 
when  the  material  to  be  learned  is  presented  through 
different  senses.  All  this  explanation  has  to  do 
with  focalization  of  consciousness  on  the  process, 
in  this  case  the  forming  of  connections  or  bonds 
between  the  successive  letters  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  sure  that  they  will  always  be  written  in  the 
right  order  whenever  the  pupil  has  occasion  to  use 
the  word.  Since  the  second  syllable,  ru,  is  so  often 
misspelled,  the  teacher  should  make  sure  that  the 
pupils  focalize  their  attention  on  it. 

Next,  a  good  deal  of  attentive  repetition  is  neces- 
sary if  the  children  are  to  learn  the  word  in  such  a 
way  as  to  be  able  to  write  it  automatically ;  that  is, 
without  having  to  stop  to  think  about  the  spelling. 
Attentive  repetition  means  that  the  pupil  must 
spell  the  word  carefully,  making  sure  that  all  the 
letters  are  visualized,  spoken,  or  written  in  the 
correct  order.  The  better  the  child  succeeds  in 
shutting  out  all  disturbing  factors,  the  more  quickly 
he  learns.  There  should  be  enough  repetition  to 
fix  the  correct  spelling.  The  child  should  be  able 
to  close  his  book  and  recall  the  word  accurately. 
After  the  word  has  been  learned,  the  teacher  should 


/ 


28    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING   OF  SPELLING 

make  sure  that  it  is  reviewed  at  intervals  in  order 
to  be  certain  that  the  correct  speUing  is  fixed.  The 
length  of  the  period  between  reviews  may  be  made 
longer  and  longer,  and,  finally,  the  word  may  be 
considered  learned. 

The  third  part  of  the  law  of  habit  formation  em- 
phasizes "permitting  no  exceptions  to  occur '^  until 
the  process  has  become  automatic.  This  means 
that  the  teacher  must  be  continually  on  the  alert 
to  see  that  the  pupil  always  spells  the  word  as  it 
should  be  spelled.  It  means,  too,  that  the  pupil 
must  be  on  the  alert,  not  only  while  the  word  is 
being  learned,  but  also  after  it  has  been 
laid  aside  as  learned.  It  should  be  re- 
peated, in  this  connection,  that  all  pupils  will  not 
misspell  words  in  exactly  the  same  way.  The 
teacher  should  specialize  on  the  mistakes  which 
occur,  "making  repairs  where  needed,'^  as  Thorn- 
dike  says. 

In  discussing  attention  and  habit  formation,  we 
must  not  forget  interest.  Interest  plays  a  big  part 
in  one's  ability  to  learn.  We  learn  most  readily  the 
lessons  in  which  we  are  most  interested.  We  do 
our  best  work  in  the  subject  in  which  we  have  the 
greatest  interest,  whether  that  subject  be  spelling, 
arithmetic,  grammar,  or  something  else.  In  some 
cases  the  material  which  one  is  studying  may  be  un- 
attractive, and  uninteresting.  After  a  time  interest 
may  develop,  largely  perhaps  because  of  satisfaction 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SPELLING  29 

in  having  accomplished  something  at  a  distasteful 
task.  The  teacher  can  do  a  great  deal  in  arousing 
interest  in  spelling  or  any  other  subject. 

The  ^'big  word"  to  be  remembered  in  this  con- 
nection is  ^'motivation/'  which  is  simply  another 
word  for  interest.  By  motivation  we 
mean  "That  attack  upon  school  work 
which  seeks  to  make  its  tasks  significant  and  pur- 
poseful for  the  child,  by  relating  them  to  his  childish 
experiences,  questions,  problems,  and  desires.''  ^  As 
applied  to  spelling,  motivation  means  to  make  spell- 
ing appeal  to  the  child's  practical  nature,  to  make 
him  see  that  the  subject  has  a  value  in  everyday 
life.  This  may  be  done  by  having  the  pupil  make 
up  word  lists,  a  subject  which  will  be  discussed  later 
on,  or  by  showing  him  that  by  misspelling  words 
in  his  letters  he  runs  the  risk  of  being  misunderstood. 
The  child's  interest  may  be  aroused  by  asking  him 
to  keep  a  personal  list  of  the  words  which  he  misspells 
in  order  to  see  how  rapidly  he  can  reduce  the  number. 
Limiting  the  spelling  list  is  one  important  means  to- 
ward motivation.  In  the  past  we  have  been  tempted 
to  require  the  learning  of  too  many  words.  Some 
spelling  books  contained  as  many  as  twelve  to  fif- 
teen thousand  words,  many  of  which  would  never 
be  used  during  or  after  school  life.  The  tendency, 
in  recent  years,  has  been  to  reduce  this  number  to 
about  four  thousand  or  even  less.     When  the  child 

*Wason,  H.  B.  and  G.  M.,  Motivation  of  School  Work. 


30    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

sees  that  most  of  the  words  in  the  speUing  lesson 
are  those  which  he  uses  in  his  everyday  affairs  he 
is  more  inclined  to  study  them,  and  when  the  teacher 
takes  a  vital  interest  in  helping  each  child  to  over- 
come his  difficulties  the  interest  in  spelling  becomes 
greater. 

The  question  may  be  raised  here  as  to  what  words 
^^at  should  be  included  in  the  spelling  list  for 

Words  any  grade.  This  will  be  discussed  in  the 
second  part  of  the  book. 

The  question  as  to  how  many  words  should  be 
included  in  the  list  for  each  grade  is  a  problem  of 
How  Many  psychology.  It  is  generally  recognized 
Words  i^j^at  young  children  are  not  able  to  learn  as 
many  new  words  each  day  as  are  the  older  children. 
Most  authorities  agree  on  about  two  new  words 
as  the  best  number  for  primary  children  and  not 
more  than  five  new  words  for  grammar  grade 
children. 

Another  problem  to  be  decided  is  that  of  how 
much  time  should  be  devoted  to  each  lesson.  It  is 
TheReci-  generally  conceded,  now,  that  not  more 
tation  than  fifteen  minutes  a  day  should  be  used 
study'  for  spelling  and  that  this  should  include 
Period  j^q^j^  study  and  recitation.  Fifteen  min- 
utes may  seem  like  a  short  time,  but  it  has  been 
shown  that  schools  which  devote  a  longer  time  to 
the  subject  do  not  secure  results  which  would  justify 
the  expenditure  of  the  extra  time.    The  schools  of 


^, 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SPELLING  31 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  the  record  of  which  in  spelling  has 
been  discussed  earlier  in  this  book,  have  used  rather 
less  time  for  the  subject  of  spelling  than  is  used  in 
the  schools  of  other  cities. 


Summary 

It  is  essential  that  every  teacher  should  know  some- 
thing about  the  psychological  principles  involved  in  the 
teaching  of  spelling. 

The  fundamental  principle  is  that  '*  learning  is  connect- 
ing^' and  that  the  teacher's  chief  concern  is  to  see  that  the 
right  connections  are  always  made  by  the  pupil  in  learning 
the  spelling  of  words. 

Other  very  important  principles  to  be  kept  in  mind  are 
that  the  attention  of  the  learner  must  be  focused  on  the 
thing  to  be  learned,  that  repetition  must  be  attentive, 
and  that  no  exceptions  be  permitted  until  correct  spelling 
becomes  a  habit. 

Pupils  learn  most  readily  the  things  in  which  they  are 
interested.  Interest  may  be  stimulated  by  the  satisfaction 
which  comes  from  the  completion  of  a  task.  Sometimes 
it  is  necessary  for  the  teacher  to  stimulate  interest.  This 
is  called  motivation.  Elimination  of  all  words  except 
those  in  everyday  use,  showing  the  practical  value  of 
different  words,  and  emphasis  on  the  solution  of  individual 
spelling  difficulties  are  all  excellent  means  of  motivation. 

Most  authorities  agree  that  from  two  to  five  spelling 
words  should  be  taught  each  day,  depending  on  the  age 
of  the  pupils. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  not  more  than  fifteen 
minutes  a  day  should  be  spent  in  the  study  and  recitation 
of  the  spelling  lesson. 


32    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING   OF  SPELLING 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  are  the  essential  elements  of  a  spelling  situa- 
tion ?  When  is  a  spelling  response  a  satisfactory  response  ? 
What  is  the  teacher's  part  in  this  connection? 

2.  Quote  from  memory  Bagley's  statement  of  the  law 
for  the  formation  of  a  habit.  Explain  and  illustrate  each 
part  of  the  statement. 

3.  What  is  the  distinction  between  ''motivation"  as 
defined  by  Wilson  and  "  sugar  coating "  as  you  under- 
stand that  terih  ?  Which  do  you  use  in  teaching  spelling  ? 
Prove  the  correctness  of  your  answer  by  illustrations. 

4.  How  many  words  do  you  ask  your  children  to  learn 
daily  in  each  grade?  Go  over  your  assignments  for  the 
past  week  and  see. 

5.  Which  of  the  investigations  discussed  in  Chapter  I 
justifies  the  authors  in  saying  that  fifteen  minutes  daily 
is  sufficient  time  to  devote  to  the  subject  of  spelling? 
Give  careful  attention  to  this  point  for  a  few  weeks  and 
see  if  you  agree. 


PART  II 

METHODS,   MATERIALS,   AND  DEVICES 
USED  IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

FOREWORD 

In  Part  I  of  this  book,  we  have  studied  the  psycho- 
logical principles  underlying  the  teaching  of  speUing. 
We  have  shown  how,  through  careful  experimenta- 
tion, these  principles  and  their  application  to  spelling 
were  discovered.  We  have  not  attempted  to  give 
a  simimary  of  all  the  experiments  that  have  been 
made.  To  have  done  so  would  have  made  this 
book  more  technical  and  more  detailed  than  the 
purposes  for  which  it  is  written  would  require  or 
permit.  We  have  presented  only  those  experiments 
which  we  feel  to  be  typical  and  pivotal  in  nature. 

From  a  study  of  this  brief  presentation  of  scientific 

investigations  and  from  this  short  statement  of  the 

psychological   principles   which   apply   to   speUing, 

we  trust  that  the  reader  will  have  gained  a  point 

of  view  sufficiently  broad  to  make  a  further  study 

of  this  book  easy.      Not  only  this,  but  we  hope  that 

the  reader  will  be  inspired  to  further  investigation 

and  more  extensive  reading  on  this  subject.     The 

33 


34    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

literature  dealing  with  spelling  is  now  becoming 
not  only  abundant  but  scientifically  accurate  and 
detailed. 

In  Part  II  we  shall  consider  the  methods  of  teach- 
ing spelling  that  are  now  used,  the  materials  with 
which  spelling  is  taught,  and  the  classroom  devices 
which  teachers  have  found  helpful. 

What  are  these  methods?    How  do  they  differ? 

What  are  the  materials  used?  What  form  do  they 
take? 

What  are  the  devices  which  classroom  teachers  have 
found  helpful? 

A  careful  reading  of  Part  II  will  reveal  the  answers 
to  these  questions. 


CHAPTER  I 
METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SPELLING 

THE  DIFFERENT  MODES  OF  PROCEDURE 

There  are  at  least  four  different  modes  of  pro- 
cedure by  which  spelling  is  taught,  now  in  use  in 
the  United  States.  These  modes  of  procedure  will 
be  spoken  of  as  '^ methods  of  teaching  spelling'' 
throughout  this  discussion.  They  are  not  distinctly 
separated,  or  mutually  exclusive,  but  they  are  suffi- 
ciently distinct  and  exclusive  for  us  to  think  of  them 
as  different  methods. 

In  this  discussion  we  shall  present  the  mode  of 
procedure,  the  advantages  claimed  for  it,  and  the 
objections  urged  against  it,  for  each  of  the  four 
methods  discussed. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  all  four  methods 
repetition  and  drill  are  essential.  The  names  applied 
to  the  methods  in  the  following  discussion  arise, 
primarily,  from  the  way  in  which  the  words  are  first 
presented  to  the  pupil. 

the  incidental  method 

As  suggested  in  Chapter  I,  in  our  discussion  of 
Commands  experiment,  the  words  which  constitute 

35 


36    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

the  spelling  lessons  when  this  method  is  in  use 
are  taken  from  the  subject  matter  of  other  classes. 
Xhe  The    words  for  the  spelling  for  one  day 

Sources  of  j^ay  }^q  taken  from  the  hygiene  lesson  for 
for  the  that  same  day.  The  next  day,  words 
SpeUing  froin  the  history  lesson  may  be  selected. 
Agriculture,  arithmetic,  and  all  the  other  subjects 
may  be  used  as  sources  of  supply  for  the  spelling. 
The  written  composition  of  the  children  is  one  of 
the  most  fertile  sources  from  which  words  for  the 
spelling  lesson  come. 

Were  this  method  strictly  applied,  there  would 
be  no  special  and  conscious  attention  to  spelling  as 
How  the  such.  The  children  would  be  supposed 
SpeUing  is  to  imbibe  the  spelling  as  they  studied  the 
*"^  *  other  subjects.  No  one,  so  far  as  we 
know,  has  carried  the  method  to  that  extreme. 

What  is  actually  done  is  to  look  through  the 
lesson  of  some  subject  for  the  day  and  pick  out  a  few 
words  which  are  to  be  spelled  by  the  members  of 
the  class  when  they  come  to  recite  that  lesson. 
A  few  minutes  of  the  recitation  period  are  taken  for 
emphasizing  the  spelling  of  the  assigned  words. 

Sometimes  teachers  select  the  words  from  one 
subject  and  then  devote  a  special  period  of  the  day 
to  the  spelling  class.  This  is  far  from  being  a  pure 
type  of  this  method  of  teaching  spelling.  It  can 
be  called  '^incidentar'  only  because  the  words  are 
selected  from  the  assigned  lessons  of  other  subjects 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SPELLING       37 

and  are  not  taken  from  a  spelling  book  especially 
designed  for  that  purpose. 

When  the  words  to  be  spelled  are  selected  from 
lessons   dealing   with   hygiene,  reading,  and   other 
subjects  that  the  child  is  studying,  the  Ad- 
words  studied  have  real  meaning  to  him.  vantages 
They  have  a  purposeful  use  for  him  on  the  same 
day  on  which  he  is  studying  them. 

One  of  the  advantages  urged  for  this  method  is 
that  it  saves  time,  but  this  claim  does  not  seem  to 
be  valid  if  time  is  taken  for  driE,  either  at  the  time 
of  the  recitation  of  the  subject  from  which  the 
words  are  taken,  or  at  a  later  time.  The  fact  is 
that  more  time  may  be  used  because  the  teacher 
must  select  the  words  and  the  children  must  locate 
them  in  their  books.  When  we  include  the  time 
that  is  certain  to  be  used  in  retelling  the  children 
which  words  were  assigned,  we  can  see  that  the 
advantage  claimed  for  this  method  is  doubtful. 

Too  often  the  words  for  special  study  are  selected 
by  chance  or  by  caprice.  If  the  teacher  has  not 
made  special  preparation  for  the  assign- 
ment, she  selects  the  words  in  a  haphazard  ^^^ 
manner.  Hygiene  happens  to  be  the  subject  selected 
for  the  day  and  the  words  that  her  eye  falls  upon 
are :  diphtheria,  disinfectant,  hypodermic,  infectioics, 
malignant. 

The  probability  is  that  the  fifth  grade  class,  to 
which  these  words  are  assigned,  will  rarely  have  an 


38    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

occasion  to  use  them  in  written  composition.  This 
makes  little  difference.  The  words  are  hard;  the 
teacher  is  rushed  for  time;  the  class  must  have 
words  to  study  for  spelling,  and  so  these  are  selected 
for  the  lesson. 

The  foregoing  discussion  suggests  another  objec- 
tion to  this  method.  The  average  teacher  does  not 
know  just  which  are  the  best  words,  the  most 
needed  words,  that  a  child  should  study.  To  say 
this  is  to  cast  no  reflection  upon  the  average  teacher. 
Relatively  speaking,  there  are  very  few  people  who 
have  made  sufficient  study  of  spelling  to  be  even 
fairly  certain  of  the  words  that  should  be  taught 
to  children  at  the  different  stages  of  their  progress. 
Even  those  experts  who  feel  that  they  have  a  good 
idea  of  the  words  which  should  be  taught  would  not 
be  able  to  select  the  words  in  this  hasty  and  acci- 
dental way.  To  be  able  to  form  this  body  of  opin- 
ion, the  expert  has  had  to  take  much  time  for  care- 
ful investigation.  What  can  we  expect  then  of  the 
meagerly  equipped  teacher  who  must  select  these 
words  during  the  rush  of  a  busy  day  of  teaching? 

The  efl&ciency  of  any  plan  or  method  of  teaching 
spelling  may  be  fairly  well  measured  by  the  provi- 
sions that  it  includes  for  attentive  repetition.  The 
'^ Incidental  Method''  of  teaching  spelling  and  the 
accidental  way  in  which  the  words  are  frequently 
selected  make  attentive  repetition  and  systematic 
review  practically  impossible. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SPELLING    39 

If  the  Incidental  Method  is  to  be  used,  the 
teacher  should  inform  herself  very  thoroughly  as 
to  the  careful  scientific  studies  that  have  been  made 
of  spelling.  What  others  have  discovered  would 
then  serve  as  a  guide  in  the  selection  of  the  words 
which  she  makes  for  each  grade.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  a  much  higher  degree  of  scientific  knowledge  and 
teaching  skill  is  needed  for  the  successful  application 
of  this  method  than  is  required  for  other  methods. 

THE  TEST-DRILL  METHOD 

Since  Jones  made  his  very  illuminating  study  of 
the  words  that  children  actually  use  in  written  com- 
position, there  has  come  into  conscious  ^he  Origin 
use  another  plan  of  procedure  that  we  andAppii- 
may  properly  designate  as  the  Test-Drill  the 
Method.     The  theory  upon  which  this  is  Method 
based  is  that,  since  we  know  what  words  children 
actually  do  use,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  test  the 
children  to  see  if  they  can  correctly  spell  all  those 
words.    If  they  can,  then  it  becomes  a  wasteful 
expenditure  of  time  for  the  children  to  study  a 
spelling  lesson  each  day.    If  they  cannot,  the  teacher 
knows  at  once  what  words  to  drill  upon  and  the 
pupil  is  made  conscious  of  his  own  limitations.  ^ 

In  applying  this  method  the  word  list  for  the 
grade  is  taken  and  divided  into  groups.  The  chil- 
dren are  tested  upon  each  group  of  words  at  the 
beginning  of  the  week,  fortnight,  or  month,  or  what- 


40    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

ever  interval  the  teacher  decides  to  use.  The  test 
is  given  without  any  warning  as  to  what  is  to  be 
given,  and  the  children  spell  without  previous  study 
on  that  particular  list.  The  words  that  each  child 
misses  become  his  spelling  list  for  the  designated 
period. 

Let  us  illustrate :  Four  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
words  constitute  the  Jones  list  for  the  third  grade. 
This  would  be  practically  fifty-two  words  for  each 
month  of  a  term  of  nine  months.  Suppose  that  on 
the  first  Monday  of  each  month  the  teacher  tested 
her  class  on  the  fifty-two  words  in  the  group  for 
that  month.  She  might  find  that  every  member  of 
the  class  could  spell  a  few  of  the  words.  Half  the 
class  might  spell  half  the  words.  A  few  members 
of  the  class  might  be  able  to  spell  eighty  per  cent 
of  the  words.  Two  or  three  members  might  be 
able  to  spell  all  the  words. 

Those  words  that  were  spelled  by  all  members  of 
the  class  might  be  eliminated  from  the  list  for  study 
for  the  month.  The  teacher  would  know  at  once 
the  relative  needs  of  each  child.  Each  child  would 
know  exactly  what  words  in  the  list  for  the  month 
he  could  not  spell.  He  would  discover  his  own 
limitations  and  would  be  held  in  the  class  only  so 
long  as  it  was  necessary  to  overcome  those  limita- 
tions. 

When  this  method  is  used  the  teacher  should 
apply  the  process  of  elimination  to  her  class.     She 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SPELLING       41 

should  do  this  by  taking  a  few  words  each  day  for 
study  and  driU.     Those  words  that  were  misspelled 
by  the  greatest  number  should  be  selected  jj^^  ^^ 
daily.    In  this  way  the  better  spellers  would  Conduct 
complete  their  lists  and  be  eliminated  from 
the  class  and  there  would  be  retained  in  the  class 
those  who  needed  most  help  and  most  practice. 

This   method    of   teaching   spelling   focuses   the 
attention  of  the  teacher  and  the  children  Advan- 
upon  the  particular  words  that  must  be  **ses 
given  special  attention. 

It  excuses  from  the  class  those  children  who  do 
not  need  to  devote  the  time  to  the  work.  It  keeps 
each  child  on  the  task  only  so  long  as  he  needs  to 
continue  and  frees  him  as  soon  as  he  has  completed 
his  task.  He  may  then  devote  himself  to  more 
profitable  work. 

The  Test-Drill  Method  frees  the  teacher  from 
teaching  a  large  class  and  permits  her  to  give  her 
time  and  attention  to  the  children  that  need  them. 

This  method  is  based  upon  the  supposition  that 
children  already  know  the  meaning   and   have  a 
mastery  of  the  use  in  speech  of  the  words 
that  they  are  to  spell.     This  is  a  supposi-      ^^^ 
tion  contrary  to  fact.     Some  children  will  know. 
Many  children  wiU  not  know. 

The  method  is  also  based  upon  the  idea  that  the 
sole  purpose  of  the  spelling  class  is  to  teach  the  order 
of  the  letters  in  the  word,  and  to  make  the  spelling 


42    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

of  the  word  automatic.  The  opponents  of  this 
method  object,  therefore,  to  its  poverty  of  ideas. 
They  say  that  while  the  habit  of  correct  speUing  is 
the  goal  sought,  it  is  not  necessary  to  rob  the  teach- 
ing of  spelling  of  all  other  associated  values  in  order 
to  attain  that  end. 

If  this  method  is  to  be  used  by  the  teacher,  the 
closing  days  of  the  month,  or  whatever  period  is 
chosen,  should  be  used  for  reviews.  All 
the  members  of  the  class  should  participate. 
Some  such  devices  as  those  suggested  in  the  last 
chapter  of  this  book  may  be  used  to  motivate  the 
reviews.  Practically  perfect  spelling  of  the  chosen 
list  of  words  should  be  expected  from  all  members 
of  the  class  at  the  close  of  each  month  when  this 
method  is  applied. 

THE   TEACHING-STUDY   METHOD 

Very  clearly  contrasted  with  the  preceding  plan 
is  one  in  which  the  spelling  recitation  period  is 
Th  s  II-  "^^^^S^^  of  as  one  of  energetic  teaching  on 
ing  Lesson  the  part  of  the  teacher  and  one  of  very 
Exercise  thoughtful  study  on  the  part  of  the  pupil, 
in  Think-  In  this  method,  the  teacher  holds  herself 
^^  responsible  even  more  than  she  does  the 

children.  She  makes  herself  responsible  for  the 
certainty  that  the  child  is  conscious  of  the  correct 
pronunciation,  accent,  meaning,  use  of  each  word, 
and  also  that  he  develops  the  habit  of  correctly 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SPELLING       43 

spelling  the  word.  She  starts  with  the  assumption 
that  he  does  not  know,  instead  of  the  assumption 
that  he  does  know,  as  in  the  preceding  method  dis- 
cussed. The  spelling  lesson  is  thought  of  much 
more  as  a  teaching  exercise  than  as  a  testing  or  a 
drill  exercise.  While  there  is  testing  and  a  great  deal 
of  drill,  these  come  as  subsequent  to  and  secondary 
to  the  teaching.  The  advocates  of  this  method 
follow  some  such  procedure  as  the  following : 

(1)  The  teacher  writes  the  list  of  words  very  plainly 
on  the  board  and  uses  each  word  in  some  suitable  sentence 
as  she  writes  it.  She  has  the  children  look  at  the  word 
for  an  instant  and  then  she  pronounces  it  again  very 
distinctly,  being  very  certain  to  give  the  correct  value 
to  each  syllable. 

(2)  The  children  then  pronounce  the  word.  At  first, 
some  child  is  called  upon  who  will  be  sure  to  pronounce 
it  correctly  and  distinctly.  Then  some  one  who  would 
not  have  been  likely  to  pronounce  it  so  well,  if  asked  to 
do  so  first,  pronounces  it.  Finally,  the  entire  class  is 
asked  to  pronounce  it  in  concert. 

(3)  The  word  is  then]used  in  sentences  by  the  children. 
This  is  done  to  make  certain  that  the  children  have  a 
clear  understanding  of  its  meaning,  and  facility  in  its  use. 
The  definition  of  the  word  is  not  asked  for.  Webster  had 
some  diiSculty  in  making  clear  the  meaning  of  words  by 
definition.  Of  course,  a  child  in  the  elementary  school 
would  have  even  more  trouble.  The  aim  is  not  abstract 
definition  —  it  is  practical  use. 

(4)  The  children  then  take  a  few  minutes  to  study  the 
words  as  they  appear  on  the  board.  They  note  the  order 
of  the  letters.     They  close  their  eyes  and  see  if  they  can 


44     GUIDE  TO  THE   TEACHING   OF  SPELLING 

recall  them  in  clear  mental  images.  They  discover  where 
the  difficulties  of  the  words  are  for  them  and  then  attack 
those  difficulties. 

(5)  The  words  are  next  erased  from  the  board  and 
dictated  to  the  children.     They  write  the  words. 

(6)  The  written  words  are  next  checked  by  having  one 
child  spell  aloud  from  his  paper  and  having  the  other 
members  of  the  class  check  their  mistakes,  or  by  some 
other  method  upon  which  the  class  may  agree.  Each 
pupil  notes  his  mistakes  and  puts  them  down  on  his 
own  ''black  list"  for  further  study. 

(7)  The  words  that  are  taught  one  day  are  used  for 
review  on  the  following  day  and  at  definitely  increasing 
intervals  thereafter. 

Sound  psychological  principles  are  applied  in  using 
this  method.  A  vivid  initial  impression  is  secured 
Advan-  by  the  pupil.  He  has  the  impression  mul- 
tages  tiplied  and  increased  through  the  eye,  ear, 

hand,  and  tongue.  Attentive  repetition  is  secured 
through  the  variety  of  means  used. 

The  class  period  is  a  thought-provoking  period 
and  not  one  merely  of  monotonous  repetition. 

Words  are  presented  and  used  in  expressing  ideas. 
When  learned  in  this  way  the  words  will  recur 
naturally  when  need  arises  for  them  in  written 
composition. 

Believers  in  the  Test-Drill  Method  of  teaching 

.       spelling  very  naturally  urge  the  following 

objections  to  the  Teaching-Study  Method : 

If  only  the  words  that  children  actually  use  and 
therefore  already  know  are  taught  in  the  spelling 


METHODS   OF  TEACHING  SPELLING       45 

work,  then  much  of  the  work  indicated  above  is 
not  only  useless,  it  is  wasteful  if  not  silly. 

It  is  unwise  to  subject  all  pupils  —  the  efficient 
and  the  inefficient  —  to  the  same  task  and  the  same 
routine. 

If  the  purpose  of  the  spelling  class  is  to  teach 
spelling,  why  take  the  time  to  turn  it  into  a  lan- 
guage recitation  ? 

The  conflict  is  sharp  and  the  distinction  clear 
between  the  theories  upon  which  the  Test-Drill 
Method  and  the  Teaching-Study  Method  ^     ,    . 

1  1       mil  Conclusion 

of  teaching  spellmg  are  based.     The  con- 
flict arises  chiefly  from  a  disagreement  as  to  the 
purpose  of  a  spelling  recitation.     Your  conclusion 
upon  this  point  should  determine  the  plan  that  you 
follow. 

THE   CONTENT-DICTATION  METHOD 

A  method  that  is  designed  to  combine  the  best 
features  of  the  three  preceding  methods  jhe 
may  be  characterized  as  the  Content-Die-  Principles 
tation   Method.     The  best  books  which  which  it 
make  use  of  this  method  are  built  upon  the  *^  ^"^* 
following  principles : 

(1)  For  each  new  lesson,  a  few  new  words  —  from 
two  to  six  —  are  presented  in  a  meaningful  context  that 
is  within  the  comprehension  of  the  child. 

(2)  The  context  is  in  the  form  of  a  paragraph  that  is 
composed  of  words  that  are  a  part  of  the  child^s  vocabulary 
as  determined  by  Jones  and  others. 


46    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

(3)  The  new  words  are  so  presented  that  they  will 
make  a  vivid  initial  impression  upon  the  child  and  so 
that  he  will  understand  their  meaning  and  become  ac- 
customed to  their  use. 

(4)  Through  the  repetition  that  occurs  in  the  para- 
graphs, sufficient  provision  is  made  for  drill.  This  is 
supplemented  by  other  devices. 

(5)  Since  spelling  is  used  in  practice  only  when  we 
write,  the  new  words  are  presented  to  the  pupil  in  a 
dictated  paragraph  which  he  writes.  In  this  way,  from  the 
first,  the  contextual  impression  of  the  word  that  the  pupil 
receives  is  correct.  From  its  first  presentation,  it  has 
meaning  for  him. 

Recalling  the  Incidental  Method,  we  shall  see  that 
its  chief  claim  to  merit  comes  from  the  fact  that 
Relation  the  words  were  selected  from  subject 
of  the  matter  that  had  real  meaning  for  the  chil- 
Dictation  dren.  The  Test-Drill  Method  derives  its 
to  other  strength  from  the  fact  that  the  attention 
Methods  of  the  teacher  and  the  pupil  is  focused  upon 
those  words  that  demand  attention  and  practice. 
The  Teaching-Study  Method  has  as  its  chief  virtue 
the  fact  that  the  intellects  of  the  teacher  and 
the  pupil  are  actively  engaged,  respectively,  in  a 
clear  and  correct  presentation  of  the  word  and  in  a 
mastery  of  it.  If  the  Content-Dictation  Method, 
through  the  books  that  make  application  of  it,  has 
succeeded  in  combining  all  these  qualities  without 
the  weaknesses  that  are  charged  to  each,  then  this  is 
an  accomplishment  indeed. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SPELLING       47 

In  teaching  according  to  the  Content-Dictation 
Method,  one  of  two  possibilities  is  open  to  the 
teacher.  She  may  take  the  new  words  for  Mode  of 
the  lesson  that  occur  in  the  paragraph  and  Procedure 
teach  them  as  was  suggested  under  the  Teaching- 
Study  Method.  After  having  done  this,  she  may 
dictate  the  paragraph.  This  will  give  opportunity 
for  testing  the  teaching  of  the  new  words  and  for 
reviewing  the  old  words  that  have  been  previously 
taught.  On  the  other  hand,  she  may  dictate  the 
paragraph  first.  Some  children  will  probably  spell 
correctly  even  the  new  words.  If  the  assumption 
is  correct  that  only  the  words  that  they  actually 
use  are  being  presented,  this  will  be  more  likely  to 
be  true.  Those  children  who  do  not  spell  the  words 
correctly  will  be  made  immediately  conscious  of 
their  need  and  will  then  be  prepared  for  an  intelligent 
and  intensive  study  of  the  new  words.  In  this  event, 
we  would  have  an  application  of  the  principle  of 
testing  first  and  then  teaching  where  weakness  is 
found. 

This  method  presents  the  new  words  to  the 
children  in  a  context  that  will  usually  have  meaning 
for  them. 

It  necessitates  spelling  in  written  com-  "^^^  ^^^^ 
position,  which  is  the  only  form  in  which  spelling  is 
practically  applied. 

It  provides  for  constant  review  in  writing  of  the 
words  most  frequently  used  in  written  composition. 


48    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

Many  of  the  dictation  exercises  of  any  book  which 
systematically  develops  a  vocabulary  made  up  of 
certain  predetermined  words  must  neces- 
sarily be  somewhat  mechanical.  Such  a 
spelling  book  must  endure  the  handicap,  suffered  by 
the  phonetic  readers,  of  being  limited  by  the  con- 
ditions which  it  must  follow  in  order  to  attain  its 
expressed  goal. 

Its  dictation  exercises  cannot  be  universally  signif- 
icant. A  paragraph  that  would  be  most  significant 
to  a  child  of  EngKsh  origin  living  in  Staunton, 
Virginia,  might  mean  little  to  a  child  of  Italian 
origin  living  in  Boston,  a  French  child  in  Thibo- 
deaux,  Louisiana,  an  Indian  child  in  Sulphur  Springs, 
Oklahoma,  a  Mexican  child  in  El  Paso,  Texas,  a 
German  child  in  Bismarck,  North  Dakota,  or  a 
Swedish  child  at  Bemidji,  Minnesota. 

EXTKAVAGANT   CLAIMS  FOR  VARIOUS  METHODS 

It  is  wise  for  the  teacher  to  take  with  a  grain  of 
salt  the  extravagant  claims  made  by  the  proponents 

of  the  various  methods  of  teaching  spelling. 

Without  doubt  the  advocates  are  honest 
in  their  claims  and  sincere  in  their  beliefs.  Doubtless, 
also,  there  is  much  truth  to  justify  the  claims.  The 
proponent  has  probably  tried  his  method  and  found 
that  it  gives  excellent  results.  His  errors  arise  from 
the  fact  that  he  has  not  given  all  the  other  methods 
an  equally  enthusiastic  and  fair  trial. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SPELLING       49 

Certain  psychological  principles  that  are  apph- 
cable  to  spelling  have  been  experimentally  proved. 
The  difficulty  in  deciding  the  advantages  of  one 
method  over  other  methods  lies  in  the  fact  that 
each  has  certain  sound  principles  for  its  support. 
Before  we  can  know  that  one  method  of  teaching  is 
better  than  another,  the  two  methods  must  be  care- 
fully compared  by  competent  and  impartial  experi- 
mentation, conducted  according  to  principles  that 
are  scientifically  sound.  Such  comparisons  of  the 
various  methods  of  teaching  spelling  have  not  yet 
been  made  with  sufficient  accuracy  —  with  the  goals 
agreed  upon,  the  situations  equivalent,  and  the 
materials  the  same  —  to  justify  the  extravagant 
claims  of  superiority  of  any  method  of  teaching 
spelling  over  all  other  methods. 

It  is  probable  that  there  will  be  much  scientific 
study  within  the  next  few  years  of  the  relative 
merits  of  the  various  methods  of  teaching  the  dif- 
ferent school  subjects.  It  is  hoped  that  this  dis- 
cussion will  lead  to  a  series  of  experiments  in  the 
various  school  systems  of  the  country  for  the  pur- 
pose of  testing  the  merits  of  the  different  ways  of 
teaching  spelhng,  and  of  providing  word  lists  so 
selected  and  arranged  as  to  be  suited  to  the  various 
stages  of  the  child's  advancement.  Some  of  the 
following  chapters  will  discuss  word  lists. 

Textbook  form  and  pedagogical  procedure  are 
often  closely  related.    The  type  of  textbook  used 


50    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

in  the  teaching  of  spelling  will  have  much  to  do 
with  the  type  of  method  which  the  teacher  will  use. 
But  the  teacher  should  not  be  a  slave  to 
the  adopted  text.  She  should  know  that 
there  are  other  ways  of  teaching  spelling  besides 
the  one  which  the  author  of  her  text  advocates. 
She  should  know  the  reasons  for  the  other  ways. 
This  will  give  her  a  pedagogical  freedom  that  can- 
not be  had  in  a  slavish  following  of  one  text.  There 
will  be  situations  which  arise  in  every  class  that 
will  call  for  the  application  of  all  the  methods  dis- 
cussed in  this  chapter.  If  the  reading  of  this 
chapter  has  given  to  the  reader  a  grasp  of  the  prin- 
ciples involved  in  each  method  discussed  to  such  an 
extent  that  she  can  apply  them  successfully  when 
the  situation  in  which  they  are  needed  arises,  then 
this  chapter  will  have  served  its  purpose. 

The  teacher  must  ever  bear  in  mind  that  textbooks 
are  not  sacred  and  a  particular  method  is  not  a  law 
of  the  Medes  and  the  Persians.  The  child's  needs 
and  the  teacher's  wisdom  are  the  two  determining 
factors.  Materials  and  methods  are  means,  not 
ends. 

Summary 

The  types  of  teaching  procedure,  used  in  the  teaching 
of  spelling,  can  be  clearly  understood  when  thought 
of  as  the  Incidental  Method  —  the  Test-Drill  Method  — 
the  Teaching-Study  Method  —  the  Content-Dictation 
Method. 

Under  the  Incidental  Method  spelling  is  taught  by 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  SPELLING       51 

correlating  it  with  the  other  school  subjects  instead  of 
by  using  a  special  text. 

When  the  Test-Drill  Method  is  applied,  only  those 
words  with  which  children  are  already  familiar  are  pre- 
sented for  study.  The  class  is  first  tested  to  see  what 
words  they  can  already  spell.  Only  those  words  that  they 
do  not  spell  correctly  are  given  special  attention. 

The  Teaching-Study  Method  is  the  opposite  of  the 
Test-Drill  Method.  In  this  case,  the  words  are  first  care- 
fully taught  by  the  teacher  and  studied  by  the  child. 
Drill  is  one  of  a  number  of  phases  that  receive  emphasis. 

The  Content-Dictation  Method  is  an  attempt  to 
teach  spelling  through  written  composition.  There  is  a 
careful  selection  of  new  words  put  into  a  meaningful 
context  which  is  dictated  to  the  child. 

Each  method  has  its  advantages  and  is  supported 
by  sound  principles.  The  teacher  should  study  the  prin- 
ciples of  each  and  apply  each  as  occasion  requires. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Summarize  the  four  methods  of  teaching  spelling 
discussed  in  this  chapter,  giving  the  advantages  claimed 
for  and  the  disadvantages  charged  against  each  method. 
Do  you  agree  with  this  analysis  ?     State  your  reasons. 

2.  Give  five  situations  in  which  you  would  deem  it 
wise  to  use  the  Incidental  Method. 

3.  If  you  were  using  the  Test-Drill  Method,  how 
would  you  provide  employment  for  those  pupils  who 
were  excused  from  the  spelling  class? 

4.  Does  the  lesson  plan  of  the  Teaching-Study  Method 
appeal  to  you  as  a  teacher  of  spelling  or  do  you  think  you 
would  find  it  irksome?    If  so,  why? 

5.  What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  to  the 
pupil  when  the  teacher  composes  her  own  dictation  ex- 
ercises for  the  use  of  the  class  in  spelling  ? 


CHAPTER  II 
SPELLING  BOOKS 

The  spelling  book  has  had  an  interesting  history. 
From  the  days  of  Noah  Webster,  when  he  gave  to 
the  world  his  famous  Blue  Back  Speller,  to  the 
present,  spelling,  as  a  separate  subject,  has  usually 
been  recognized  as  one  of  the  fundamentals.  For  a 
few  years,  about  the  close  of  the  last  century,  the 
spelling  book  fell  into  disuse  because  of  the  revela- 
tions made  by  Dr.  Rice  and  by  Dr.  Cornman, 
referred  to  in  Part  I  of  this  book;  but  in  recent 
years  the  schools  have  been  using  spelling  books 
because  it  was  found  that  teaching  spelling  in  an 
incidental  fashion  was  not  producing  the  desired 
results.  A  constantly  growing  number  of  books 
and  a  wide  variety  of  methods  for  use  in  the  ele- 
mentary grades  of  our  schools  have  been  presented 
for  the  consideration  of  educators.  We  have  before 
us  forty  different  spelling  texts  that  have  been  used 
in  the  public  schools  of  America.  Of  this  number 
we  find,  upon  investigation,  that  there  are  twenty 
or  more  different  texts  that  are  now  in  use  in  the 
different  states  of  the  nation.  These  texts  represent 
all  the  various  psychological  and  pedagogical  ideas 

52 


SPELLING  BOOKS  53 

that  have  been  urged  at  any  time  since  spelling  as  a 
subject  began  to  be  taught  in  our  schools. 

To  the  layman,  all  spelling  books  are  alike.    A 
"spelling  book  is  a  spelling  book.''     "Pigs  is  pigs." 
But,  to  the  person  who  has  made  a  study  of 
spelling,  there  is  as  great  a  difference  be-  spelling 
tween  one  spelling  book  and  another  as  ?2?^? 
there  is  between  the  pure  bred  hog  of  some 
modem  breed  and  the  little  creature  that  is  dignified 
by  the  title  of  guinea  pig. 

"But,"  you  ask,  "just  what  are  the  differences? 
Do  they  not  all  contain  words  ?  Is  it  not  a  matter, 
after  all,  of  learning  to  spell  words?"  So  it  is.  So 
it  was  a  matter  of  growing  meat  with  the  hog  raiser, 
but  he  found  that  there  was  a  difference  in  the  price 
of  the  product  when  he  fed  a  pure  bred  hog  and 
when  he  fed  a  poorly  bred  hog.  He  also  found  there 
was  a  difference  due  to  the  kind  of  ration  and  to  the 
time  of  feeding.  With  the  learner,  it  is  a  matter 
of  learning  to  spell,  but  his  results  wiU  depend 
much  upon  what  he  has  to  work  with  and  also 
the  manner  in  which  he  does  his  work.  Spelling 
books  differ  greatly  in  their  general  plan,  in  the 
words  they  contain,  and  as  much,  if  not  more, 
in  the  psychological  laws  that  they  call  into  opera- 
tion. 

Because  of  these  differences,  we  give  below  an 
analysis  of  the  various  types  of  spelling  book. 
They  may  "be  divided  roughly  into  five  types. 


54    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

The  first  of  these  types  may  be  called  the  logical 
type  because  logical  arrangement  determines  the 
The  Logical  placing  of  the  words.  The  old  Webster's 
'^P®  Blue  Back  Speller  is  the  oldest  and  best 

recognized  example  of  this  group.  Words  were  ar- 
ranged according  to  the  number  of  syllables.  Such 
matters  as  the  learner's  need,  probability  of  use, 
and  the  laws  of  association,  were  entirely  disregarded. 
That  one  word  had  as  many  letters  as  another  or 
had  a  sound  similar  to  that  of  another  was  sufficient 
reason  for  the  two  to  be  placed  in  the  same  group, 
even  if  one  of  those  words  was  already  well  known 
to  the  child  and  the  other  was  one  that  he  need 
never  know  and  would  never  use.  There  has  been 
a  large  progeny  of  this  type  of  spelling  book.  The 
logical  spelling  books  were  favorites  in  the  days 
when  the  oral  spelling  bee  was  common.  The 
words  they  contain  are  excellent  for  use  on  such 
occasions.  They  are  not  suitable  for  everyday  use 
in  written  composition  and  it  is  only  in  written 
composition  that  spelling  is  really  used. 

In  order  to  illustrate  the  mechanical  qualities  of 
these  logical  spelling  books  we  give  herewith  the 
first  and  last  groups  of  words  given  in  one  of  the 
texts : 

ache  unintentional 

adz  university 

aid  unmentionable 

aim  utilitarian 


SPELLING  BOOKS  55 

aisle  valetudinarian 
alms  vegetarian 
aught  verification 
auk  veterinary- 
aunt  volubility 
awe  voluntarily 

A  glance  at  the  above  lists  will  reveal  several 
things :  (1)  They  are  mere  lists  of  words  picked 
from  the  alphabetical  lists  as  they  are  found  in  the 
dictionary.  (2)  Few  of  them  are  words  that  children 
would  use.  (3)  Some  of  the  words  that  are  given 
in  the  first  lesson  in  the  book  would  not  be  used  by 
the  children  any  earlier  than  would  the  words  that 
are  presented  in  the  last  lesson.  The  element  of 
service  seems  never  to  have  been  considered  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  materials. 

The  question  before  the  teacher  is :  If  I  have  such 
a  text  as  the  above  and  if  I  must,  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  authorities,  use  it,  how  shall  I  handle  it  ? 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  get  clearly  in  mind 
the  aims  that  are  to  be  followed.  These  aims  have 
a  twofold  purpose  for  the  child  : 

(1)  To  learn  more  fully  the  meaning  and  use  of  the 
words  already  a  part  of  the  child^s  speaking,  hearing, 
and  reading  vocabularies. 

(2)  To  learn  how  to  spell  the  word  so  well  that  the 
spelling  itself  gives  the  writer  no  cause  for  thought  or 
concern  when  he  is  to  use  it  in  written  composition. 

The  author  of  such  a  book  did  not  have  these  aims 
in  mind,  for,  had  this  been  the  case,  the  materials 


56    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

would  not  have  been  so  arranged.  With  such  a 
text;  the  teaching  phase  of  the  class  work  must 
occupy  an  unnecessarily  large  part  of  the  teacher's 
time.  She  must  think  out  some  plan  of  association 
to  use  in  presenting  the  words,  in  using  the  words, 
and  in  reviewing  the  words.  This  will  be  difficult 
and  wasteful  of  the  teacher's  time,  but  it  will  result 
in  economy  in  the  time  of  the  children  and  in  more 
efficient  work.  To  put  these  words  into  one  para- 
graph so  as  to  show  their  meanings  would  be  rather 
difficult  and  would  produce  compositions  of  sublime 
absurdity. 

See  the  following  paragraph  as  an  illustration  of 
an  effort  to  put  into  suitable  context  the  first  ten 
words  referred  to  above  : 

"The  boy  suffered  from  a  dreadful  ache.  Aid 
was  given  but  it  did  not  accomplish  aught.  He 
died  and  was  taken  down  the  aisle  of  the  church. 
The  coffin  had  been  hewn  with  an  adz.  The  scene 
filled  all  who  saw  it  with  awe.  The  aim  of  the  spec- 
tators was  to  give  alms  to  the  poor  relations  but 
the  rich  aunt  objected,  saying  that  she  would  pro- 
vide for  their  wants  from  her  auk  farm  in  the  far 
north." 

With  such  a  context,  the  child  would  probably 
become  so  much  interested  in  the  somberness  of  the 
story  or  so  curious  about  what  an  auk  farm  was  that 
he  would  lose  all  interest  in  the  spelling  itself.  Such 
original,  continuous  paragraphs,  therefore,  seem  not 


SPELLING  BOOKS  57 

advisable.  With  such  a  list  of  words  the  aim  should 
be  merely  to  teach  the  meaning  of  the  word  as  it 
would  occur  in  a  sentence.  The  child  should  re- 
member the  word  for  its  own  sake  and  not  for  the 
story's  sake.  The  following  sentences  will  illustrate 
how  these  words  may  be  presented  in  a  suitable 
context : 

1.  I  have  an  ache,  or  pain,  in  the  back  of  my  head. 

2.  The  adz  is  a  tool  used  by  builders  of  log  houses. 

3.  Aid  was  given  to  the  woman  who  was  in  trouble. 

4.  My  aim  is  to  complete  this  task  to-day. 

5.  The  aisle  of  the  church  is  the  space  between  two 
rows  of  seats. 

6.  Those  who  have  enough  give  alms  to  the  very 
poor. 

7.  I  never  hear  aught  but  good  of  him. 

8.  An  auk  is  a  bird  of  the  far  north. 

9.  Your  aunt  is  your  mother^s  or  your  father's  sister. 
10.   The  mountain  is  so  high  it  fills  me  with  awe. 

Such  a  list  of  sentences  can  easily  be  made  by 
the  teacher  as  she  presents  the  words  for  the  first 
time  to  the  class.  Numerous  devices  must  be 
used  for  the  purpose  of  giving  drill  upon  such  a  list 
of  words.  The  teacher  must  not  take  it  for  granted 
that  a  child  can  spell  a  word  simply  because  he 
understands  its  use  or  even  because  he  can  use  it 
correctly  in  oral  composition.  There  is  no  proof 
of  his  ability  to  spell  except  the  actual  unassisted 
correct  writing  of  the  word  by  the  child  in  his  own 
composition. 


58     GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

One  of  the  first  things  that  the  teacher  must 
learn  is  that  she  must  use  her  own  judgment  in 
selecting  words  that  are  to  constitute  the  child's 
lesson.  If  there  are  words  in  a  group  that  is  being 
studied  that  the  teacher  knows  are  foreign  to  the 
child's  experience,  conversation,  and  reading,  then 
those  words  should  be  omitted.  Spelling  texts 
are  being  constantly  improved,  but  even  the  very 
best  texts  admit  of  selection  in  order  better  to  suit 
local  situations.  What  is  within  the  city  child's 
"hearing"  and  "reading"  vocabulary  may  be  en- 
tirely foreign  to  the  rural  child  and  vice  versa. 
The  more  strictly  logical  type  of  spelling  book 
will  call  for  more  careful  selection  of  words  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher,  but  all  spelling  books  will  de- 
mand this  attention  to  some  degree. 

Fortunately  for  the  teachers  and  the  children, 
the  extremely  logical  type  of  book  has  largely 
disappeared.  In  spite  of  that  fact,  we  sometimes 
hear  some  one  say :  "There  has  never  been  a  spell- 
ing book  like  the  old  Blue  Back ;  we  do  not  have 
spellers  to-day  such  as  we  had  in  the  old  days." 
Let  us  agree  to  both  statements  and  be  thankful. 

The  phonetic  type  of  spelling  book  is  a  natural 
descendant  of  the  logical  type  of  spelHng  book. 
^^  Instead  of  making  the  requirement  a  cer- 

Phonetic  tain  letter,  as  the  beginning  of  each  word 
'^^P®  of  the  lesson  group,  or  the  same  number 

of  letters  in  the  words  or  the  same  number  of  syl- 


SPELLING  BOOKS  59 

lables  —  as  was  the  rule  with  the  logical  type  — 
the  phonetic  type  of  spelling  book  places  its  em- 
phasis upon  similar  sounds.  It  makes  its  appeal 
through  a  group  of  letters,  the  sound  of  which  is 
common  to  all  words  in  the  group,  even  though  the 
words  are  not  related  in  meaning.  It  makes  its 
appeal  to  the  ear  and  the  eye,  especially  to  the  ear. 
It  does  not  concern  itself  much  with  association  of 
ideas  but  rather  with  association  of  sounds.  The 
following  words  taken  from  one  of  the  best  spellers 
of  this  type  will  illustrate  this  point : 


out 

broke 

pail 

about 

smoke 

sail 

pout 

spoke 

wail 

stout 

joke 

tail 

spout 

poke 

bail 

shout 

yoke 

fail 

scout 

choke 

nail 

trout 

woke 

mail 

A  perusal  of  the  above  lists  will  reveal  the  common 
element  in  each  of  the  words  of  these  lists.  These 
words  are  so  arranged  as  to  secure  with  ease  and 
speed  the  second  of  the  purposes  of  teaching  spell- 
ing; viz.,  ^^  Making  automatic  the  spelling  of  the 
words  studied. ''  It  entirely  omits  the  first  of  these 
aims;  viz.,  ^'The  teaching  of  the  meaning  and  use 
of  the  words. '^  Even  if  a  child  can  spell  a  word 
with  unfailing  correctness  when  it  is  in  such  a  list 
as  the  above,  it  is  not  certain  that  he  will  be  able 


60    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

to  spell  it  when  it  is  disassociated  from  the  list  and 
put  in  a  meaningful  context. 

What  shall  the  teacher  do  when  confronted  with 
a  situation  such  as  this  text  presents  ? 

Fortunately,  there  are  a  number  of  things  to  re- 
lieve the  teachers  in  this  situation  :  (1)  With  these 
books,  the  lists  are  usually  made  up  of  words  that 
are  already  familiar  to  the  child  and  are  a  part  of 
his  spoken  vocabulary.  The  main  thing,  then, 
that  is  needed  by  him  is  to  learn  how  to  spell  the 
words.  (2)  Since  the  child  can  probably  commit 
to  memory  more  of  these  words  in  a  given  time  than 
he  can  of  a  group  of  wholly  dissimilar  words,  he 
will  have  some  time  to  devote  to  such  supplementafy 
work  as  the  teacher  thinks  to  be  necessary.  (3)  One 
of  the  great  advantages  of  the  phonetic  type  in 
the  elementary  grades  is  that  it  appeals  to  the 
child's  natural  fondness  for  rhyme  and  similarities. 
Even  this  must  be  capitalized,  or  else  it  will  prove 
a  sameness  that  kills  rather  than  a  similarity  that 
thrills. 

The  plan  of  procedure,  then,  with  the  phonetic 
type  of  spelling  book  is :  (1)  to  make  the  most  of 
its  good  points  for  rapid,  happy,  rhythmical  drill  ; 
(2)  to  feel  free  to  turn  aside  and  do  such  other  teach- 
ing as  is  not  provided  for  by  the  book.  Remember 
that  it  is  a  drill-device  book  and  not  a  thought- 
teaching  book. 

By  far  the  largest  number  of  spelling  books  that 


SPELLING  BOOKS 


61 


are  now  on  the  market  and  coming  from  the  press 
are    of    the    psychological   or   language-  T^ePsy- 
teaching  type.     They  are  based   on  as-  choiogicai 
sociated   ideas.     Sometimes   the   purpose  ^^g^' 
is  more  dominantly  that  of  stimulating  Teaching 
expression.     To  illustrate:  ^^® 

A  picture  is  presented  of  a  boy  driving  home  the 
cows  from  pasture  at  the  close  of  day.  After  class 
discussion  of  the  picture,  the  following  words  are 
given  for  the  lesson :  calves,  fodder,  switch,  patient, 
driving,  country,  timothy.  The  child  is  then  asked 
to  write  about  the  good  time  he  thinks  the  boy  is 
having.  The  aim  is  to  teach  certain  words  in  a 
specific  connection  in  order  that  the  child  may  apply 
them  at  once  in  written  composition. 

A  second  illustration  of  this  type  is  the  book  in 
which  a  group  of  words,  all  related  to  the  same  thing, 
are  included  in  one  lesson.  The  two  lists  of  words 
given  below  are  typical : 

Parts  of  the  Body 
ear 


eye 
nose 
mouth 
brain 

portico 
arcade 
porch 
balcony 


A  House 


hair 

skuU 

cheek 

teeth 

tongue 

piazza 
vestibule 
veranda 
passageway 


62    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

In  this  type,  a  selection  of  literature  is  some- 
times used  for  class  study  and  then  from  it  are 
selected  certain  words  for  study  as  drill  in  spell- 
ing. The  following  selection  will  illustrate  this 
point : 

"The  night  has  a  thousand  eyes, 
And  the  day  but  one ; 
Yet  the  light  of  the  whole  world  dies 
With  the  dying  sun." 

Words  for  drill:  died,  dies,  dying,  eyes,  whole, 
thousand. 

A  fourth  illustration  of  this  type  is  the  book  that 
provides  a  heterogeneous  group  of  words  to  be 
drilled  upon  but  gives  a  simple  sentence  to  illus- 
trate the  meaning  of  the  word,  as  follows : 

tried  ....  The  boys  tried  to  hit  the  frogs, 

dance  ....  They  danced  about  the  pond, 

side  ....  They  ran  up  and  down  the  sides. 

toss  ....  They  tossed  sticks  into  the  pond. 

block  ....  They  tossed  blocks  of  wood,  too. 

The  books  which  are  written  according  to  the 
plans  that  have  been  illustrated  under  this  third 
type  have  one  very  distinct  advantage  and  are 
subject  to  one  very  great  danger.  The  great  ad- 
vantage is  that  the  words  are  always  presented  in  a 
meaningful  way.  The  spelling  lesson  becomes  a 
thought  lesson  and  not  simply  an  automatic  per- 
formance.    The  child  will  readily  understand  the 


SPELLING  BOOKS  63 

words  and  will  be  able  to  use  them  in  sentences 
that  have  meaning  to  himself  and  to  others.  The 
danger  to  which  this  type  of  book  subjects  the  pupil 
using  it  is  that  his  attention  will  be  directed  to 
the  thought  and  not  to  the  "order  of  letters  in  the 
word/'  which,  after  all,  is  what  constitutes  spelling. 
Thought  content  may  be  taught  in  other  classes. 
The  purpose  of  the  spelling  class  is  to  teach  spell- 
ing, to  make  automatic  the  placing  of  the  letters 
in  the  correct  order  in  those  words  that  the  child 
has  occasion  to  use  in  written  composition.  If  this 
result  is  not  accomplished,  then  in  so  far  as  spell- 
ing is  concerned,  all  the  other  work  is  for  naught. 
The  work  may  have  been  interesting  as  language, 
literature,  art,  geography,  or  history,  but  it  was 
not  good  teaching  of  spelling.  Whatever  else  is 
done  in  the  spelHng  class  may  be  finally  justified 
as  a  part  of  the  teaching  of  spelling  only  to  the  ex- 
tent that  it  really  aids  in  making  automatic  the 
use  of  the  correct  order  of  the  letters. 

If  the  teacher  has  a  language-teaching  spelling 
book,  she  must  bear  these  facts  in  mind.  She  has 
an  implement  with  which  she  can  make  of  the  spell- 
ing lessons  very  interesting  social  periods.  The 
spelling  lessons  may  be  filled  with  interesting  ideas 
and  happy  expression,  but  the  spelling  teacher 
must  remember  that  there  must  be  sufficient  review 
and  drill  to  make  automatic  the  correct  order  of  the 
letters  in  the  words  that  are  taught.     She  must 


64    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

make  certain  that  the  words  that  have  been  taught 
have  been  learned.  If  the  teacher  is  alert,  this  will 
cause  her  no  trouble  but  only  add  to  her  pleasure  as 
a  teacher. 

There  are  a  number  of  books  that  seem  not  to 
fall  very  distinctly  under  any  one  of  the  preceding 
Mixed  types  but  which  seem  to  partake  some- 
Type  what  of  the  characteristics  of  each.  In 
these  books  an  effort  has  been  made  to  blend  the 
best  qualities  of  each  of  the  types  discussed.  What 
we  have  said,  therefore,  in  regard  to  each  type 
would  apply,  in  so  far  as  these  qualities  are  con- 
cerned, to  the  mixed  type. 

Under  the  heading,  Miscellaneous  Types,  at  least 
three  classes  of  books  may  be  mentioned : 

(1)  There  is  the  class  built  upon  the  theory 
that  the  purpose  of  the  spelling  book  is  to  pre- 
j^ig.  sent  words  that  are  already  familiar  to 

ceiianeous  the  child  and  a  working  part  of  his 
spoken  and  written  vocabulary.  Under 
such  circumstances,  all  that  is  needed  is  to  find 
what  words  occur  most  often  in  his  vocabulary 
and  to  arrange  them  accordingly  for  class  study. 
The  purpose  of  teaching  spelling  with  such  a  book 
is  not  to  teach  the  meaning  of  but  merely  to  test 
the  ability  to  spell  these  old  familiar  words.  If  the 
pupil  cannot  spell  them  correctly,  then  the  teacher 
must  correct  his  errors  and  drill  upon  the  correct 
speUing  until  it  is   automatic.      Thus   the   spell- 


SPELLING  BOOKS  65 

ing  task  becomes,  first,  one  of  testing,  and  then  one 
of  drill.  While  review,  repetition,  and  drill  are 
essential  in  making  automatic  the  order  of  letters 
in  the  word,  the  scope  of  the  spelling  class  and  the 
material  of  the  recitation  need  not  be  so  restricted 
as  such  a  text  would  imply. 

(2)  Somewhat  related  to  the  above  class  of  books  is 
the  one  which  makes  drill  its  one  distinguishing 
feature.  It  presents  but  few  words  for  each  new 
lesson,  usually  two.  It  provides  for  a  series  of  re- 
views coming  at  intervals  of  increasing  length. 
This  book  has  in  its  favor  certain  fundamental 
psychological  laws  which  function  in  memorizing 
and  which  operate  against  forgetting.  The  teacher 
should  profit  from  the  principles  applied  in  such  a 
text,  but  should  remember  that  here,  as  with  other 
texts,  the  teacher^s  own  ability  must  function  in 
providing  devices  that  give  variety  in  order  that 
the  scheme  of  repetition  provided  may  not  make 
the  work  monotonous. 

(3)  A  third  example  is  the  book  that  depends 
chiefly  upon  similarities  of  vowel  sounds  and  of 
consonant  sounds,  and  that  emphasizes  diacritical 
marking.  This  is  a  distant  offspring  of  the  old 
logical  type  described  in  the  beginning  of  this  dis- 
cussion. It  follows  strictly  logical  principles.  It 
finds  some  element  in  a  group  of  words  that  is  alike 
or  something  in  them  that  is  different  and  it  em- 
phasizes this  similarity  or  difference. 


66    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

Illustration :  o  like  e,  as  in  odor,  ardor,  armor, 
harhor,  humor. 

y  like  i,  as  in  dye,  type,  style,  rhyme, 
lying. 

The  great  weakness  of  this  type  of  book  is  that, 
although  it  associates  ideas,  the  ideas  are  very  ab- 
stract and  unimportant  and  are  so  varied  that  they 
confuse  rather  than  clarify  the  problem  of  spelling. 

That  the  first  of  the  miscellaneous  tyipes  of  books 
could  show  results  should  be  expected.  It  under- 
takes so  little  that  it  should  succeed  in  what  it 
undertakes.  That  number  two  could  boast  of  good 
results  is  only  natural.  A  drop  of  water  dropping 
constantly  on  a  rock  will  finally  make  an  impres- 
sion. That  number  three  should  be  able  to  make  a 
good  showing  would  be  a  miracle  indeed. 

While  we  have  tried  in  the  preceding  pages  to  give 
the  teacher  an  analysis  of  the  various  types  of 
spelling  books  that  are  now  before  the  public  and 
in  use  in  our  schools,  it  must  be  understood  that 
we  have  merely  given  our  own  analysis  and  judg- 
ment.^ The  relative  value  of  different  types  of  books 
in  accomplishing  different  desirable  ends  has  not  yet 
been  scientifically  determined.  One  of  the  oppor- 
tunities of  the  classroom  teacher  of  to-day  is  def- 
initely to  settle  some  of  these  problems  which  clamor 
for  solution. 

*  See  a  related  analysis  in  the  Journal  of  Educational  Researchf 
Vol.  I,  February,  p.  119,  Article  by  Clifford  Woody. 


SPELLING  BOOKS  67 

Summary 

Spelling  books  may  be  grouped,  roughly,  according  to 
their  most  dominant  characteristics,  under  the  following 
classifications:  (1)  Logical,  (2)  Phonetic,  (3)  Psycho- 
logical or  Language-Teaching,  (4)  Mixed,  (5)  Miscella- 
neous. 

The  Logical  Type  is  the  oldest.  Its  lessons  are  com- 
posed of  words  that  have  one  common  element  such  as  the 
same  number  of  letters,  syllables,  the  same  initial  or  final 
letter,  and  the  hke.  Physical  similarity  is  the  determining 
factor. 

The  Phonetic  Type  makes  similarity  of  sound  its 
controlling  factor.  It  is  a  logical  speller  in  that  it  em- 
phasizes the  logic  of  tone,  whereas  the  earlier  speller  em- 
phasized the  logic  of  structure. 

The  Psychological  or  Language-Teaching  Type  is  a 
book  that  makes  the  association  of  ideas  the  central 
thought.  The  aim  is  to  teach  spelling  but  to  do  so  in 
such  a  way  that  it  shall  be  accompanied  by  much  good 
language  work. 

The  Mixed  Type  is  a  book  in  which  the  various  char- 
acteristics of  all  types  are  so  interwoven  that  it  seems  not 
to  have  a  definite  method  of  its  own. 

Miscellaneous  Types  is  a  term  chosen  to  represent 
all  those  that  do  not  fall  clearly  within  one  of  the  types 
mentioned  before.  Under  this  heading  might  be  classed 
a  number  of  books  now  before  the  American  school 
pubHc.  Only  three  have  been  mentioned :  first,  a  book 
that  makes  the  child's  own  vocabulary  the  limit  of  the 
text;  second,  a  book  that  makes  repetition  the  major 
factor;  third,  a  book  that  makes  word  similarities  that 
are  determined  by  diacritical  marking  the  basis  for  the 
teaching  effort. 


68    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING   OF  SPELLING 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Summarize  the  characteristics  of  the  first  four  types 
of  books  discussed  in  this  chapter.  Does  the  text  which 
you  use  belong  to  one  of  these  types?     To  which? 

2.  What  are  the  characteristics  of  the  three  books 
described  under  Miscellaneous  Types?  Does  your 
adopted  text  belong  to  one  of  these  types?     To  which? 

3.  Which  of  the  eight  kinds  of  books  described  in  this 
chapter  would  you  prefer  to  use  as  a  text?  What  are 
the  arguments  you  would  use  to  induce  your  book  com- 
mission to  adopt  your  choice  ? 

4.  Describe  an  experiment  you  might  conduct  to  test 
the  relative  merits  of  two  or  more  spelling  texts  with 
which  you  are  familiar. 


CHAPTER  ni 

STANDARDS  BY  WHICH  TO  MEASURE 
SPELLING  BOOKS 

Teachebs  in  the  elementary  schools  of  our  coun- 
try should  be  able  to  measure  the  merits  of  the 
texts  that  they  use.  A  survey  of  the  spelling  texts 
that  are  now  in  use  throughout  the  United  States 
shows  very  clearly  that  the  teachers  of  the  coun- 
try and  the  school  committees  who  select  the  books 
for  the  teachers  have  not  in  the  past  been  very 
familiar  with  spelling  book  standards.  We  give 
below  a  few  of  the  fundamental  principles  that  we 
feel  every  book  intended  for  use  as  a  text  in  spell- 
ing should  meet.  We  believe  that  if  the  teachers 
will  measure  the  particular  texts  that  they  happen 
to  be  using  by  these  standards,  it  will  aid  them  in 
discovering  the  weaknesses  of  their  books  and  the 
weaknesses  of  their  own  classroom  work,  and  will 
thus  make  it  possible  for  them  to  correct  hitherto 
undiscovered  defects. 

(1)  Does  the  text  present  the  words  that  a  child 
uses  and  needs  now  and  will  need  very  soon  ? 

Dr.  W.  Franklin  Jones  has  made  a  study  of  the 
words  that  children  actually  use  at  different  ages 

69 


70    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

and  in  the  different  grades  of  schooL  His  list  of 
4532  words  and  the  Ayres  list  of  a  thousand  words 
Useful-  ^^^  ^^^  most  reliable  sources  of  material 
ness  of  that  are  available  for  use  in  these  grades. 
Other  lists  of  value,  concerning  which  more 
will  be  said  in  the  next  chapter,  are  now  coming  into 
public  recognition,  notably  the  Iowa  Spelling  Scale. 
These  lists  present  the  minimal  essentials,  so  to 
speak,  of  what  all  children  will  need,  without  refer- 
ence to  locality,  present  environment,  or  proposed 
occupation.  One  of  the  possible  criticisms  of  the 
Language-Teaching  spelling  books,  discussed  in 
the  previous  chapter,  is  that  they  usually  have  a 
number  of  lessons  included  that  are  not  applicable 
to  all  sections  of  the  country  or  to  the  social  and 
vocational  environment  of  all  pupils.  But  these 
lessons  are  not  particularly  objectionable  if  the 
teacher  will  use  common  sense  and  omit  such  special 
groups  of  words  as  will  awaken  no  past  experience 
or  fill  no  future  need  of  the  child.  Some  books 
contain  as  many  as  five  thousand  words,  while 
careful  examination  of  the  facts  reveals  that  not 
more  than  half  that  number  are  really  used  by  the 
child.  That  the  child  may  need  a  word  and  may 
use  it  when  he  is  grown  is  no  reason  for  having  him 
learn  to  spell  it  when  he  is  a  pupil  in  the  third  grade. 

(2)  Is  the  material  of  the  text  so  arranged  that 
it  lends  itself  to  the  instruction,  inspiration,  and 
information  of  the  child? 


SPELLING  BOOK  STANDARDS  71 

If  the  material  is  not  so  arranged,  the  text  is  no 
better  than  were  those  of  a  century  ago,  before  the 
laws  of  psychology  were  made  known  by  Arrange- 
much   experimentation    with    cause    and  mentof 
effect,  situation  and  response,  satisfaction 
and  annoyance,  association,  etc.     The  teachableness 
of  the  words  will  depend  chiefly  upon  their  grouping. 
Interested  attention,  an  element  absolutely  necessary 
to  the  teaching  of  spelling,  depends  upon  the  group- 
ing of  the  words.    Just  how  can  they  be  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  beget  the  maximum  amount  of  thought- 
ful, voluntary,  and  continued  attention?    This  is 
the  problem  for  the  text  maker,  and  an  important 
claim  to  merit  for  his  text  should  be  based  upon  his 
success  in  this  particular. 

(3)  After  we  are  sure  that  the  author  has  given 
us  a  text  that  is  thought-provoking,  idea-stimulat- 
ing,  neurone-exciting  in  its  nature,   the 
next  thing  that  concerns  us  is :    What  for  correct 
means  has  he  provided  to  make  habitual  5*^**  . 

Formation 

the  exact  reproduction  of  the  order  of  the 
letters  in  the  words  by  the  child  whenever  the 
child  has  to  write  the  words  ?  In  other  words,  what 
means  has  he  used  for  providing  drill  for  the  words 
that  he  has  presented  in  such  an  attractive  manner  ? 
Experimentation  shows  that  man  forgets  very  easily 
and  very  quickly.  It  shows  further  that  he  forgets 
more  rapidly  just  after  a  thing  has  been  learned  than 
he  does  later  on.    We  must  therefore  make  certain 


72    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

that  means  are  provided  for  drilling  on  new  words 
very  soon  after  they  have  been  learned.  There 
must  be  other  drills  at  intervals  increasing  in  length. 
The  text  itself  should  be  fertile  with  suggestions  and 
illustrations  as  to  how  drills  may  be  made  inter- 
esting. The  text  maker  should  know  much  more 
of  this  than  does  the  elementary  teacher  and  should 
not  fail  to  give  her  the  benefit  of  that  knowledge. 

(4)  To  what  extent  does  the  book  make  use  of 
phonetic  principles  and  devices  ? 

Spelling  is  largely  a  phonetic  process.  This  is 
particularly  true  in  the  earlier  work  of  the  child. 
Use  of  However,  even  during  the  first  year  in 
Phonetic  which  the  child  makes  a  systematic  study 
of  spelling,  the  device  of  phonetic  resem- 
blance should  not  be  the  only  means  of  association 
used.  He  will,  it  is  probable,  have  learned  much 
of  phonetics  in  his  reading  classes  during  the  first 
two  years  of  his  school  life,  even  if  he  has  not  taken 
up  the  systematic  study  of  spelling.  By  the  time 
he  has  completed  his  third  school  year  he  should 
have  a  practical  mastery  of  elementary  phonetics 
and  his  attention  should  be  centered  upon  other 
types  of  association  and  other  ideas  that  will  in- 
terest him  vastly  more  than  will  the  phonetic 
similarities  of  words. 

(5)  Does  the  book  make  suflScient  use  of  similar- 
ities and  of  contrasts  in  the  form  and  meaning  of 
words  to  stimulate  thinking  by  the  child? 


SPELLING  BOOK  STANDARDS  73 

Although   spelling  lessons  should   gradually  en- 
rich the  child's  mind  with  thought  content,  and 
although  the  process  must  make  habit-  use  of  j 
ual  the  correct  order  of  letters  in  words,  ^°^" 

r  1        1  •       •  -1      panson 

it  must  not  be  felt  that  it  is  outside  andCon- 
the  province  of  the  spelling  lesson  to  call  ^^^^ 
for  careful  observation  of  similarities  and  contrasts, 
and  the  hberal  use  of  reason  in  arranging  words  in 
groups  according  to  form  or  function.  Such  work 
will  serve  to  impress  the  order  of  the  letters  and  the 
meaning  and  function  of  the  words  far  more  than  will 
mere  repetition.  Such  exercises  will  give  repetition 
and  at  the  same  time  will  hold  the  pupil's  attention. 

The  above  suggestion  must  not  be  taken  to  mean 
that  the  teacher  must  work  to  see  just  how  many 
problems  she  can  discover  that  can  be  worked  out 
in  connection  with  the  speUing  lessons.  The  reason- 
ing phase  of  the  work  can  be  easily  overdone. 
One  text  that  came  to  our  notice  had  used  this  de- 
vice to  such  an  extent  that  it  had  become  a  mod- 
ern illustration  of  the  ancient  mental  arithmetic. 
Everything  the  author  could  think  of  had  been 
compared  or  contrasted.  So  much  was  this  true 
that  one,  in  making  a  study  of  the  book,  came  to 
feel  that  it  was  not  meant  to  teach  spelling  but  to 
test  one's  ingenuity  in  solving  little  spelling  and 
language  puzzles. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  while  the 
above  standards  should  apply  to  the  material  and 


74    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

methods  of  every  good  spelling  book,  it  does  not 
follow  that  a  book  must  be  cast  aside  as  worthless 
if  it  does  not  contain  all  these  elements.  The 
authors  of  spelling  books  usually  are  deeply  imbued 
with  one  idea.  They  are  perfectly  honest  in  putting 
it  forward  even  to  the  point  of  overemphasis. 
They  have  usually  tried  out  in  many  classrooms  the 
plan  which  they  present  and  they  have  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  it  worked.  If  it  worked 
in  their  classrooms,  it  will  work  in  yours.  This  is 
true.  But  it  is  also  true  that  you  may  be  able  to 
use  such  of  their  ideas  as  seem  wise  to  you  and,  at 
the  same  time,  supplement  these  ideas  with  sug- 
gestions from  other  sources.  To  point  out  ways 
of  doing  this  is  the  purpose  of  this  discussion.  If 
a  study  of  these  standards  serves  to  give  to  the 
teacher  a  broader  view  and  greater  independence 
of  method,  then  they  will  have  served  the  purpose 
for  which  they  are  set  forth. 

Summary 

Teachers  in  the  elementary  schools  should  be  able  to 
judge  the  merits  of  the  books  that  they  use.  This  ability 
will  aid  them  better  to  adapt  their  methods  to  the 
children's  needs  and  to  offset  more  effectively  the  text's 
limitations.  The  following  questions,  when  answered 
with  fairness  and  good  judgment  based  upon  the  facts  in 
the  books  and  the  scientific  literature  on  the  subject, 
should  give  the  teacher  a  fair  estimate  of  the  merits  of  a 
text: 


SPELLING  BOOK  STANDARDS  75 

Does  it  present  the  words  that  a  child  needs  and  uses 
now  and  will  need  and  use  very  soon  ? 

Is  the  material  of  the  text  so  arranged  that  it  lends  itself 
to  the  instruction,  inspiration,  and  information  of  the 
child? 

Has  the  author  provided  drill  for  the  purpose  of  making 
habitual  the  exact  reproduction  of  the  order  of  the  letters 
in  the  word  by  the  child  whenever  he  has  to  write  it? 

Does  the  book  make  wise  and  helpful  use  of  phonetic 
principles  and  devices? 

Does  the  book  make  sufficient  use  of  similarities  and 
contrasts  in  the  form  and  meaning  of  words  to  stimulate 
thinking  by  the  child  ? 

A  book  may  be  a  valuable  book  even  though  it  does  not 
conform  to  all  these  standards.  Few  books  do.  But 
the  teacher  should  understand  that  it  is  her  duty  to  supply 
what  the  book  lacks. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Consider  the  different  types  of  spelling  books  avail- 
able in  your  community.  Try  to  identify  each  of  the 
books  with  one  of  the  types  discussed  in  Chapter  II.  To 
how  many  of  the  standards  set  forth  in  this  chapter  does 
each  book  conform? 

2.  What  principle  does  the  author  of  each  spelling 
text  examined  by  you,  follow  in  presenting  the  words  to 
the  children  for  the  first  time  ? 

3.  What  plan  is  used  in  each  text  for  making  habitual 
the  spelling  of  the  words? 

4.  Select  from  each  text  five  words  that  you  know  are 
frequently  misspelled  and  trace  them  throughout  the 
book.  How  many  times  and  at  what  intervals  are  they 
presented  ? 


CHAPTER  IV 

SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM 

In  Part  II  of  the  Eighteenth  Year  Book  of  the 
National  Society  for  the  Scientific  Study  of  Edu- 
cation, Dr.  Ernest  Horn,  of  the  University  of  Iowa, 
has  presented  a  very  careful  summary  of  all  the  more 
important  experiments  and  investigations  that  have 
been  made  in  connection  with  the  teaching  and  learn- 
ing of  spelling.  Of  this  compilation  of  more  than 
one  hundred  significant  experiments  and  investiga- 
tions, we  shall  concern  ourselves  in  this  chapter, 
primarily,  with  only  two.  The  first  of  these  is  the 
list  of  "One  Hundred  Spelling  Demons''  prepared  by 
Dr.  Franklin  Jones,  recently  of  the  University  of 
South  Dakota.  The  second  is  "A  Suggested 
Minimal  Spelling  List''  arranged  by  grades,  pre- 
pared by  one  of  the  authors  of  this  guide. 

"one  hundred  spelling  demons" 
Dr.  Jones  investigated  the  following  problem : 

"  What  words,  grade  for  grade,  do  children  use  in  their 
own  free  written  speech,  and  what  words,  therefore,  do  they 
need  to  know  how  to  spell?" 

76 


SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM    77 

To  answer  this  question,  Dr.  Jones  selected  1050 
children  in  four  states,  distributed  from  the  second 
to  the  eighth  grades  inclusive.  He  had  source  of 
each  child  write  from  fifty-seven  to  one  Material 
hundred  and  five  compositions  and  then  he  counted 
the  number  of  words  that  were  used  by  each  child 
and  the  number  of  words  that  were  used  by  all  the 
children  of  each  of  the  seven  grades.  His  discoveries 
were  very  interesting.  He  found  that  the  children 
of  the  second  grade  used  1927  words  in  all. 

The  third  grade  added  to  this  number    .  469  words 

The  fourth 442  words 

The  fifth 432  words 

The  sixth 425  words 

The  seventh 419  words 

The  eighth 418  words 

Thus,  the  number  of  words  used  by  all  children 
in  each  grade  group  varied  from  1927  used  by  the 
second  grade  to  4532  used  by  all  the  children  from 
the  second  to  the  eighth  grade  inclusive.  The  inter- 
esting point  in  this  whole  matter  and  the  one  to  which 
the  attention  of  the  reader  is  especially  called  is 
this  fact :  More  than  nine  tenths  of  all  words  that 
were  misspelled  by  these  1050  children  were  found 
in  the  2396  words  that  were  in  the  written  vocab- 
ularies of  the  second  and  third  grades.  The  one 
hundred  words  that  caused  the  greater  part  of  the 
trouble  have  been  dubbed  '^The  One  Hundred 
Spelhng  Demons''  and  are  given  as  follows : 


78    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


which 

can't 

guess 

they 

their 

sure 

says 

half 

there 

loose 

having 

break 

separate 

lose 

just 

buy 

don't 

Wednesday- 

doctor 

again 

meant 

country 

whether 

very 

friend 

February 

believe 

none 

business 

know 

knew 

week 

many- 

could 

laid 

often 

some 

seems 

tear 

whole 

been 

Tuesday 

choose 

won't 

used 

wear 

tired 

cough 

always 

answer 

grammar 

piece 

where 

two 

minute 

raise 

women 

too 

any 

ache 

done 

ready 

much 

read 

hear 

forty 

beginning 

said 

here 

hour 

blue 

hoarse 

write 

trouble 

though 

shoes 

writing 

among 

coming 

to-night 

heard 

busy 

early 

wrote 

does 

built 

instead 

enough 

once 

color 

easy 

truly 

would 

making 

every 

straight 

since 

dear 

through 

sugar 

Practically  any  child  that  is  advanced  enough  to 
be  in  an  intermediate  spelling  class  is  mature 
enough  to  know  how  to  spell  or  to  learn  to  spell 
the  words  in  the  above  list.  They  are  in  a  sense 
difficult.  If  the  reader  will  glance  over  the  list  she 
may  find  a  number  that  even  yet  give  her  trouble 
in  her  own  written  work.    This  is  due  to  the  fact 


SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM    79 

that  at  the  right  time  those  words  were  not  so 
taught  and  so  drilled  upon  that  their  spelling  became 
automatic  in  the  mind.  What  an  obligation,  then, 
upon  the  teacher  to  see  that  the  children  whom  she 
teaches  shall  not  be  similarly  handicapped  and 
embarrassed  during  their  lives  by  the  inability  to 
spell  words  in  such  very  conmion  use  —  words  that 
can  be  so  easily  taught  and  learned  if  they  are 
taught  in  the  right  way  and  learned  at  the  right 
time. 

We  are  confident  that  another  shorter  list  of 
Spelling  Demons  of  anotherj'type  of  words  could  be 
discovered  were  one  to  make  a  careful  study  of  the 
errors  that  children  make  in  the  spelling  of  words 
that  call  foi:  the  use  of  the  hyphen  and  the  apos- 
trophe. This  could  include  possessives,  contrac- 
tions, and  compounds.  A  suggestive  study  of  this 
question  is  presented  in  the  English  Journal  for 
June,  1919,  by  John  A.  Lester.  His  discussion  relates 
particularly  to  this  difficulty  as  related  to  college 
Freshmen,  but  an  even  more  fruitful  study  of  it  might 
be  made  as  it  is  related  to  the  elementary  school. 

A  SUGGESTED   MINIMAL  SPELLING  LIST 

"A  Suggested  Minimal  Spelling  List,''  referred 
to  above,  is  presented  here  because  it  serves  as  one 
of  the  most  comprehensive  summaries  of  the  vari- 
ous spelling  lists  that  have  been  developed  by 
investigators  who  have  studied  this  question,  and 


80    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

because  it  groups  together  those  words  that  must 
be  taught  by  the  teachers  and  learned  by  the  children 
of  America  if  correct  spelling  is  to  be  a  result  of 
our  educational  system.  It  is  hoped  that  this  tenta- 
tive graded  list  will  meet  the  popular  demand  for  a 
short  list  containing  the  most  commonly  used  words. 

It  has  been  assumed  that  a  useful  spelling  list 
should  contain :  first,  the  words  which  children  in 
Material  the  elementary  school  are  most  likely  to 
Included  ^qq  jn  their  daily  written  work;  and, 
second,  the  words  which  will  be  most  frequently 
used  after  the  pupil  leaves  school. 

This  list  was  compiled  from  the  following  spelling 
tests  and  word  lists  : 

Professor  Jones'  Concrete  Investigation  of  the  Material 
of  English  Spelling.  This  is  probably  the  most  thorough- 
going of  the  publications  examined.  It  presents  4532 
words  derived  from  the  study  of  15,000,000  words  in  the 
themes  of  1050  elementary  school  children,  grades  2  to  8, 
inclusive. 

Common  Essentials  in  Spelling,  a  list  of  3470  words, 
prepared  by  C.  K.  Studley  and  Allison  Ware.  It  is  a 
compilation  of  the  words  found  in  Dr.  Leonard  P.  Ayres' 
Spelling  Vocabularies  of  Personal  and  Business  Letters, 
those  included  in  a  list  prepared  by  Miss  Effie  McFadden 
and  Dr.  Frederic  Burke  of  the  San  Francisco,  California, 
State  Normal  School,  and  the  words  found  in  the  com- 
positions of  the  children  of  the  Chico  District,  California. 

Mr.  Algar  Woolf oik's  list,  containing  411  words  from 
the  written  work  of  children  in  grades  3  to  8,  inclusive,  of 
the  Horace  Mann  School,  New  York  City,  the  public 


SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM    81 

schools  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  those  of  Richmond, 
Virginia.  This  hst  includes  only  words  which  were  mis- 
spelled four  or  more  times  in  the  manuscripts  examined. 

Mr.  Homer  J.  Smith's  list  of  1138  words  as  derived 
from  a  total  of  12,500  words  used  in  the  spontaneous  com- 
positions of  elementary  school  children  in  grades  3  to  8, 
inclusive.  The  hst  omits  numerals,  all  proper  nouns, 
pronouns,  prepositions,  and  some  conjunctions. 

The  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  Spelling  List,  prepared 
by  the  teachers  and  supervisors  of  the  pubhc  schools. 
This  list  has  been  incorporated  in  a  series  of  spelling 
books,  containing  approximately  4000  words,  for  use  in 
grades  1  to  8,  inclusive. 

The  hsts  prepared  by  the  teachers  of  the  Boston  public 
schools  who  were  asked  to  contribute  minimal  and  sup- 
plementary word  hsts  for  all  the  elementary  grades. 
The  former  contain  840  words ;  the  latter,  2542. 

Dr.  Leonard  P.  Ayres*  Measuring  Scale  for  Ability  in 
Spelling.  This  contains  one  thousand  words  compiled 
by  the  author  from  the  most  frequently  occurring  words  in 
(1)  his  study  of  the  Vocabularies  of  Personal  and  Business 
Letters,  (2)  Cook  and  O'Shea's  study  of  personal  letters, 
(3)  Eldridge's  newspaper  hst,  (4)  "the  358  most  fre- 
quently occurring  words  in  an  aggregate  of  100,000" 
found  in  the  Bible  and  "various  authors"  by  Reverend 
J.  Knowles  of  London,  England. 

Hick^s  Champion  Spelling  Book.  Only  the  words  em- 
phasized in  daily  lessons,  1872  in  all,  are  included,  the 
assumption  being  that  they  are  not  only  the  most  fre- 
quently misspelled,  but  also  the  ones  in  most  common 
use. 

An  examination  of  the  following  lists  showed  what 
words  would  probably  be  found  in  the  vocabularies 


82    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

of  business  people,  and,  consequently,  in  the  vocab- 
ularies of  pupils  going  to  work  upon  the  completion 
of  the  elementary  school,  or  earlier : 

Spelling  Vocabularies  of  Personal  and  Business  Letters. 
The  542  common  words  found  in  this  study  of  Dr. 
Leonard  P.  Ayres  are  probably  too  well  known  to  need 
discussion. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Chancellor's  list  consisting  of  the  1000  most 
common  words,  compiled  from  his  personal  correspondence 
as  superintendent  of  schools. 

Professors  Cook  and  O'Shea's  Ust  consisting  of  three 
thousand  words  from  the  correspondence  of  thirteen 
adults. 

The  newspaper  list  compiled  by  Mr.  R.  C.  Eldridge  of 
Niagara  Falls,  New  York,  is  the  most  comprehensive  of 
all  the  lists  examined.  It  consists  of  six  thousand  words 
from  two  pages  of  each  of  four  Buffalo,  New  York,  Sunday 
papers. 

In  all  the  lists  examined,  the  noticeable  frequency 
of  a  few  words  indicates  that  they  are  the  commonest 
ones  in  the  daily  business  and  private  correspondence 
of  most  people.  According  to  Mr.  Eldridge,  "the 
first  750  words"  in  his  list  "with  their  repetitions, 
constitute  more  than  three-fourths  of  all  the  words 
on  the  eight  pages  from  which  they  have  been  drawn, 
and  probably  a  large  part  of  these  words  will  be 
found  in  nearly  the  same  proportion  in  any  English 
conversation  or  printed  matter."  Dr.  Ayres  tabu- 
lated the  first  words  in  each  line  of  several  hundred 
letters,  23,629  words  in  all,  including  repetitions; 


SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM    83 

542  words  with  their  repetitions  made  up  seven 
eighths  of  the  total  number,  while  23,087  with 
their  repetitions  constituted  the  other  one  eighth. 
Mr.  Knowles'  358  words  with  their  repetitions  com- 
prised 75  per  cent  of  the  100,000  words  which  he 
tabulated. 

Owing  to  the  wide  geographical  distribution  of  the 
places  from  which  the  lists  came,  the  individual 
lists  contain  many  words  of  purely  local  significance. 
The  common  words  which  form  the  nucleus  of  our 
written  vocabulary  are  found  to  a  large  extent  in  all 
the  lists. 

After  the  lists  had  been  selected,  each  was  num- 
bered, and  all  the  words  were  checked  in  a  dictionary. 
The  figure  1  was  placed  before  every  word  in  the 
dictionary  which  occurred  in  the  Eldridge  list. 
The  figure  2  was  placed  before  each  word  that  was 
found  in  the  Jones  list.  The  other  ten  lists  were 
checked  in  the  same  fashion.  All  together,  about 
30,000  words  were  checked.  By  far  the  greatest 
number  of  words  in  each  list  occurred  in  only  one  list, 
a  somewhat  smaller  number  in  two  lists,  and  so  on 
down  to  121  that  were  common  to  10  lists,  54  common 
to  11  lists,  and  only  9,  viz.,  again,  any,  believe,  look, 
many,  money,  remember,  there,  and  through,  that  were 
found  in  all  the  lists. 

It  was  arbitrarily  decided  to  include  in  the  final 
list  all  words  which  occurred  in  at  least  six  of  the 
twelve  lists  examined ;  there  were  1309  such  words. 


84    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

Arranging  the  words  by  grades  presented  a  much 
greater  difficulty  than  their  selection.  An  examina- 
tion of  eight  graded  lists ;  viz.,  The  California  and 
Johnstown  spellers,  Hick^s  Champion  Spelling  Book, 
and  the  Boston,  New  Orleans,  Richmond,  Smith,  and 
Woolfolk  lists  revealed  much  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  where  some  of  the  words  should  be  placed. 
Thus,  accept  was  put  in  the  third  grade  list  by  one 
author,  in  the  fourth  by  a  second,  and  in  the  fifth  by 
a  third,  in  the  sixth  by  three,  and  in  the  seventh  by 
two.  It  appears  among  the  sixth  grade  words  in  the 
appended  list.  Address,  which  appeared  in  three 
fifth,  one  sixth,  and  one  eighth  grade  list,  has  been 
placed  in  the  fifth  grade  of  the  appended  Hst.  Am, 
which  was  found  in  first,  second,  and  fifth  grade 
lists,  most  frequently  in  the  last,  was  placed  in  the 
fifth  grade.  Each  word  in  the  entire  list  was 
assigned  to  the  grade  agreed  upon  by  the  majority 
of  authors  investigated,  although  in  some  cases  the 
placing  appeared  to  be  pedagogically  unsound. 
Some  words  could  be  classified  very  readily  because 
of  the  close  agreement  as  to  where  they  belonged ; 
when  there  was  an  exact  division  of  opinion  as  to 
the  location  of  a  word,  this  word  was  placed  in  the 
lowest  grade  mentioned.  As  was  expected,  most 
of  the  words  fell  into  the  primary  grade  lists,  a 
considerably  smaller  number  into  the  intermediate 
grade  lists,  and  comparatively  few  into  the  grammar 
grade  lists.    The  distribution  was  as  follows:   318 


SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM    85 

words  in  the  second  grade,  342  in  the  third,  216  in 
the  fourth,  164  in  the  fifth,  135  in  the  sixth,  96  in 
the  seventh,  and  14  in  the  eighth. 

Suggested  Minimal  Spelling  List,  Arranged  by 
Grades 


(Second  Grade) 

318  words 

add 

been 

brother 

cost 

after 

bear 

burn 

could 

ago 

bed 

but 

count 

air 

before 

buy 

cow 

alone 

beg 

by 

cross 

also 

begin 

caU 

cup 

am 

belong 

came 

cut 

among 

best 

candy 

dark 

an 

better 

card 

dead 

ankle 

bill 

care 

dear 

are 

bird 

cart 

December 

arm 

black 

case 

deep 

as 

block 

cat 

did 

ask 

blue 

catch 

dirt 

asleep 

boat 

cent 

do 

at 

body 

chair 

done 

ate 

boil 

change 

doctor 

August 

book 

chicken 

dog 

aunt 

both 

church 

dollar 

away 

box 

clerk 

don't 

bad 

boy 

coat 

door 

ball 

bread 

cold 

down 

bank 

brick 

comb 

draw 

basket 

bright 

come 

dress 

be 

bring 

copy 

drink 

86    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


drop 

from 

head 

late 

drowned 

front 

hear 

lay 

dust 

full 

heard 

lazy 

each 

game 

heart 

leaf 

ear 

garden 

help 

leg 

early- 

get 

her 

lesson 

east 

getting 

here 

let 

even 

girl 

high 

letter 

ever 

give 

hiU 

long 

every 

go 

him 

make 

eye 

goes 

himself 

making 

face 

going 

his 

me 

fair 

gone 

home 

meet 

fall 

gold 

horse 

men 

far 

good 

house 

more 

fast 

got 

how 

mother 

father 

grass 

hungry 

mouse 

feed 

great 

hurt 

mouth 

feet 

green 

I 

my 

fence 

ground 

ice 

near 

few 

grow 

if 

never 

fill 

guess 

ill 

new 

find 

had 

in 

next 

fine 

half 

into 

nice 

first 

hair 

invite 

no 

fix 

hand 

is 

nose 

flower 

hang 

it 

not 

fly 

happy 

jump 

of 

fowl 

hard 

keep 

off 

foot 

has 

kind 

on 

for 

hat 

knew 

one 

found 

have 

knife 

only 

freeze 

having 

laid 

our 

fresh 

he 

large 

out 

SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM    87 


own 

shoe 

the 

we 

paper 

shut 

theater 

weU 

pencil 

sick 

them 

went 

pink 

sister 

then 

were 

push 

sit 

these 

west 

put 

six 

they 

what 

read 

sky 

this 

white 

red 

snow 

three 

who 

road 

so 

time 

will 

root 

soap 

to 

wind 

rose 

store 

told 

window 

round 

story 

took 

word 

run 

study- 

top 

would 

said 

tail 

two 

write 

saw 

take 

under 

writing 

say- 

teeth 

up 

wrote 

school 

ten 

us 

yes 

seed 

than 

was 

you 

seven 

thank 

wash 

young 

shall 

that 

water 

your 

she 

(Third  Grade) 

342  words 

about 

almost 

April 

bath 

above 

along 

around 

because 

across 

always 

arrest 

become 

act 

animal 

attend 

behind 

addition 

answer 

autumn 

beneath 

afraid 

answers 

avoid 

beside 

again 

any 

baby 

between 

aU 

anything 

back 

big 

alley 

appear 

banana 

bite 

allow 

apple 

barn 

blossom 

88    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


board 

common 

farther 

June 

born 

company 

feel 

July 

bottom 

control 

fellow 

just 

bought 

cook 

field 

kill 

branch 

corner 

fierce 

kitchen 

break 

cotton 

figure 

knee 

breakfast 

cough 

floor 

knock 

breath 

cousin 

flour 

knot 

broke 

daily 

fond 

know 

brown 

danger 

fortune 

lady 

build 

date 

friend 

last 

built 

daughter 

fruit 

laugh 

bundle 

deserve 

gave 

learn 

bury 

die 

glad 

leather 

busy 

dinner 

good-by 

leave 

butter 

dish 

grade 

left 

button 

divide 

grain 

lemon 

cake 

double 

grocery 

lightning 

car 

drive 

hall 

Hke 

caught 

duty 

heavy 

listen 

center 

earn 

herself 

Httle 

chase 

earth 

hold 

live 

child 

eat 

hole 

look 

children 

egg 

hoarse 

lose 

chimney 

else 

honest 

lot 

circle 

empty 

hope 

loud 

city 

end 

hour 

love 

clean 

enough 

hundred 

low 

climb 

except 

inch 

machine 

close 

excuse 

inquire 

many 

cloth 

explain 

intend 

mark 

coarse 

fail 

iron 

master 

color 

family 

island 

measure 

coming 

farm 

jail 

meat 

SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM    89 


mice 

often 

reach 

sorry 

might 

old 

ready 

south 

mile 

once 

recess 

speak 

milk 

open 

remember 

spell 

minute 

orange 

ribbon 

spring 

miss 

other 

ride 

stand 

mistake 

ought 

right 

star 

mistress 

over 

ring 

stay 

Monday 

pair 

room 

stiU 

money 

parlor 

rough 

stood 

month 

part 

running 

stopped 

morning 

party 

safe 

street 

move 

people 

Saturday 

sugar 

much 

perhaps 

scissors 

suit 

music 

pick 

see 

summer 

must 

picture 

sell 

sun 

myself 

pie 

send 

Sunday 

name 

piece 

sent 

supper 

naughty 

place 

September 

sure 

need 

plain 

severe 

swim 

news 

play 

snake 

table 

nickel 

pleasant 

ship 

talk 

night 

point 

short 

taste 

ninth 

poor 

should 

teacher 

noise 

pound 

show 

teU 

noon 

pretty 

side 

themselves 

north 

prompt 

sing 

there 

nothing 

quart 

sleep 

thing 

notice 

quarter 

sleigh 

think 

now 

quick 

small 

third 

nut 

quiet 

sold 

thought 

obey 

quite 

some 

thread 

o'clock 

race 

something 

threw 

October 

raise 

soon 

through 

90    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


throw 

ugly 

way 

with 

Thursday- 

uncle 

wear 

without 

tire 

until 

week 

woman 

tired 

upon 

wet 

whose 

to-day 

use 

wheel 

wood 

toward 

used 

when 

work 

town 

vacation 

where 

worth 

traction 

very 

whether 

wrap 

tree 

voice 

which 

wrapped 

truly 

wagon 

while 

written 

truth 

wait 

whisper 

yard 

try 

walk 

whistle 

year 

tried 

wall 

whole 

yellow 

Tuesday 

want 

why 

yesterday 

turn 

warm 

winter 

yet 

twelve 

watch 

wish 

(Fourth  Grade) 

216  words 

able 

breathe 

collar 

escape 

account 

burglar 

corn 

expect 

ache 

bushel 

cottage 

failure 

according 

cabbage 

country 

fashion 

age 

canoe 

dentist 

fear 

alarm 

capital 

depot 

feather 

allowed 

carriage 

desert 

felt 

angel 

chain 

discover 

fight 

attack 

chocolate 

dismiss 

finish 

author 

circus 

ditch 

fire 

beginning 

civil 

division 

food 

believe 

class 

dream 

form 

biscuit 

club 

engine 

forward 

blanket 

coffee 

enjoy 

furnace 

SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM    91 


furniture 

metal 

pumpkin 

station 

grammar 

middle 

quarrel 

stone 

guard 

mind 

question 

stop 

guide 

mine 

rain 

straight 

gun 

mischief 

rapid 

strong 

hammer 

most 

reason 

such 

healthy 

mountain 

receive 

sweep 

heat 

neighbor 

recent 

taught 

history- 

neither 

regard 

teach 

hoping 

ninety 

remain 

term 

human 

number 

roar 

thick 

idea 

orchard 

roof 

those 

important 

outside 

same 

though 

Indian 

palace 

saucer 

thousand 

inside 

parade 

scholar 

throat 

justice 

park 

second 

thunder 

kept 

pass 

seem 

together 

king 

past 

sentence 

to-morrow 

labor 

pay 

separate 

tongue 

land 

peace 

set 

too 

lawn 

period 

several 

track 

life 

piano 

shadow 

train 

hght 

pigeon 

sew 

travel 

lying 

please 

shore 

trial 

line 

pleasure 

shoulder 

trip 

linen 

pledge 

since 

trouble 

lonesome 

pocket 

sir 

umbrella 

manage 

poem 

skin 

unless 

man 

poison 

sHde 

village 

March 

pohce 

smoke 

visit 

market 

post 

soldier 

visitor 

matter 

potato 

son 

waist 

may- 

practice 

stairs 

war 

mean 

present 

start 

weather 

92    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


weigh 

won 

wonderful 

wreck 

win 

wonder 

world 

wrong 

women 

(Fifth  Grade) 

164  words 

address 

collect 

fever 

nature 

afternoon 

cohimn 

fifth 

nephew 

against 

comfort 

finger 

none 

agreeable 

concern 

forest 

November 

already 

concert 

frightened 

object 

although 

couple 

glass 

occupy 

angry 

course 

government 

ocean 

anxious 

court 

handkerchief 

opinion 

army 

cushion 

heaven 

orphan 

arrival 

damage 

height 

ourselves 

article 

dangerous 

hospital 

page 

attention 

debt 

instead 

passenger 

automobile 

defeat 

interest 

person 

auto 

describe 

jealous 

persuade 

awful 

destroy 

journey 

picnic 

bathe 

different 

judge 

pin 

beat 

direction 

language 

plant 

beautiful 

disappoint 

lawyer 

position 

bicycle 

dispute 

length 

pour 

birth 

doubt 

level 

press 

blow 

edge 

loose 

price 

bruise 

equator 

mail 

problem 

business 

everything 

match 

promise 

carpet 

exercise 

maybe 

proper 

cause 

expense 

medicine 

railroad 

cement 

familiar 

merely 

rather 

chance 

famous 

modern 

real 

coast 

favorite 

narrow 

reply 

SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM     93 


rise 

settle 

suggest 

usual 

river 

shepherd 

supply 

vegetable 

roll 

sight 

suppose 

view 

saddle 

sincerely 

surprise 

wake 

sail 

size 

tear 

waste 

scratch 

song 

telegraph 

wave 

sea 

square 

terrible 

weak 

secret 

state 

Thanksgiving  Wednesday 

section 

steal 

ticket 

wide 

select 

stock 

to-night 

within 

sense 

strange 

true 

wound 

serious 

succeed 

union 

woolen 

serve 

success 

useful 

(Sixth  Grade) 

135  words 

absent 

calendar 

factory 

material 

accept 

captain 

favor 

mere 

acquaintance 

catalogue 

finally 

museum 

advantage 

certain 

foreign 

national 

advice 

charge 

freight 

necessary 

altogether 

citizen 

further 

newspaper 

appetite 

clear 

general 

note 

application 

chmate 

genuine 

obhge 

arrival 

coal 

glorious 

occasion 

assist 

contain 

guest 

odor 

assistance 

decision 

imagine 

office 

attempt 

diamond 

immediately 

order 

avenue 

dictionary- 

importance 

parentage 

baggage 

difference 

impossible 

particular 

balance 

due 

innocent 

patient 

breast 

during 

jewel 

pavement 

brief 

entertain 

least 

pecuHar 

cabin 

extreme 

luncheon 

physical 

94    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


pity 

rate 

search 

temperature 

plan 

really 

season 

their 

plenty 

receipt 

sheriff 

thermometer 

political 

refer 

shine 

thin 

possible 

relief 

sign 

thorough 

power 

repair 

silver 

trust 

prefer 

report 

special 

unable 

principal 

request 

spend 

understand 

principle 

restaurant 

spoil 

variety 

print 

result 

spread 

valuable 

prison 

return 

steady 

volume 

private 

review 

stomach 

wander 

punish 

route 

strength 

weight 

purpose 

scene 

student 

wife 

pursue 

scenery 

telephone 

wire 

(Seventh  Grade) 

96  words 

accident 

catarrh 

deal 

issue 

acknowledge 

cemetery 

death 

judgment 

advertise 

century 

decide 

knowledge 

amount 

character 

desire 

license 

apply 

check 

disappear 

manufacture 

appoint 

college 

distance 

marriage 

appreciate 

command 

education 

mention 

arrange 

committee 

effect 

minister 

arrangement 

complete 

effort 

moment 

association 

compliment 

experience 

mortgage 

assure 

conduct 

gymnasium 

nuisance 

bargain 

consider 

honor 

obtain 

benefit 

continue 

illustrate 

offer 

bouquet 

convenient 

information 

opportunity 

campaign 

criticize 

interrupt 

opposite 

candidate 

cylinder 

invitation 

perfect 

SPECIAL  LISTS  AND 

HOW  TO  USE  THEM    95 

personal           recommend 

service            subject 

physician         reference 

signature        sufficient 

practical          relative 

similar            superintendent 

prairie              religion 

single              system 

preparation      remark 

sleeve             tariff 

prepare            remedy 

society            therefore 

privilege           salary 

sole                 usually 

recognize         secretary 

splendid         yield 

(Eighth  Grade) 

14  words 

affair 

forenoon 

allege 

member 

argument 

proceed 

attendance 

public 

camphor 

secure 

corpse 

treasure 

department 

vacant 

The  foregoing  list  of  words  is  not  meant  to  dis- 
place the  Spelling  Book.  It  is  rather  a  scale  by 
which  to  measure  the  content  of  the  book.  Purpose  of 
These  words  are  not  all  the  words  which  a  ^®  ^*^* 
book  should  contain,  but  a  book  should  certainly 
contain  all  these  words. 

This  list  may  be  used  to  very  practical  ends  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  year  by  every  teacher  of 
spelling.  It  can  be  used,  also,  as  the  basis  for  Friday 
afternoon  spelling  matches.  The  lists  of  words  for 
special  tests  may  be  taken  from  it.  The  children 
may  be  given  the  list  and  told  that  when  they  have 
completed  the  eighth  grade,  this  is  the  smallest 


96    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

number  of  words  that  they  should  be  able  to  spell 
correctly,  without  even  having  to  think  about  the 
order  of  the  letters. 

The  teacher  should  give  written  tests  including 
a  large  number  of  words  to  discover  those  words 
which  the  children  cannot  spell.  To  have  the  child 
use  the  words  in  sentences  is  preferred  to  mere  list 
spelling.  When  the  teacher  has  discovered  the 
troublesome  words,  and  when  the  child  is  made 
aware  of  his  own  limitations,  then  some  definite 
teaching  and  careful  and  persistent  study  may  be 
done  in  connection  with  the  words  that  are  misspelled. 
A  child  should  not  be  required  to  study  words  that 
he  already  knows,  but  rather  those  words  that  he 
cannot  spell.  Thus,  there  will  be  motive  for  study 
and  pleasure  in  the  work,  for  the  child  himself  will 
see  the  necessity  for  and  benefit  of  his  study. 

The  testing  should  begin  with  the  words  suggested 
for  the  grades  below  that  in  which  the  child  is  lo- 
cated, and  should  work  up  to  his  present  classifi- 
cation. He  will  discover  the  words  that  he  should 
know  but  does  not.  When  these  are  discovered, 
the  teacher  should  work  with  the  child  according 
to  the  methods  of  teaching  discussed  earlier  in 
this  book.  It  is  believed  that  if  the  teacher  will 
devote  about  a  month  at  the  close  of  each  year  to 
such  work  as  is  here  suggested,  the  results  will 
amply  repay  her  for  the  time  spent. 

The  inter-school  written  and  oral  speUing  match, 


SPECIAL  LISTS  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM     97 

discussed  in  a  later  section  of  this  book,  is  one  of  the 
best  means  by  which  to  motivate  good  work  and 
is  valuable  for  the  purpose  of  reviewing  the  work  of 
the  year  and  fixing  definitely  in  the  minds  of  the 
children  those  words  that  everyone  should  know 
how  to  spell  automatically. 

Summary 

Many  scientific  investigations  have  been  made  in 
connection  with  spelling.  In  this  chapter  we  have  dis- 
cussed two  of  those  that  have  resulted  in  special  lists  of 
important  words : 

1.  We  have  discussed  Dr.  F.  Jones'  list,  commonly 
known  as  *'One  Hundred  Spelling  Demons,"  because 
it  includes  words  that  are  frequently  used  and  most  often 
misspelled. 

2.  We  have  discussed  H.  C.  Pry  or 's  "A  Suggested 
Minimal  Spelling  List,"  because  it  has  been  compiled  from 
a  number  of  other  reputable  lists. 

Such  lists  as  the  two  discussed  in  this  chapter  should 
be  used  by  the  teacher  as  guides  to  direct  her  effort. 
They  may  also  be  used  by  the  class  for  purposes  of  review. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  phase  of  the  study  made  by  Jones  interests 
you  most?    What  surprises  does  it  contain  for  you? 

2.  Test  your  school  by  means  of  the  ^'One  Hundred 
Spelling  Demons  "to  see  if  the  results  justify  this  name 
for  those  words. 

3.  Does  Pryor's  "  A  Suggested  Minimal  Spelling  List " 
contain  all  the  words  which  you  think  such  a  list  should 
contain?    Wherein  does  it  seem  most  limited?    What 


98    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

method  would  you  use  to  determine  what  words  should 
be  added  ? 

4.  How  do  you  account  for  the  fact  that  there  are  so 
many  words  in  the  lists  for  the  lower  grades  and  so  few 
in  those  for  the  higher  grades,  in  the  Pryor  List? 

5.  Compare  the  words  assigned  by  Pryor  to  some  one 
grade  with  the  words  listed  in  your  adopted  text  for  the 
same  grade.    To  what  extent  do  the  two  lists  agree? 


CHAPTER  V 
SPELLING  LISTS  MADE  BY  THE  SCHOOL 

Important  as  are  the  words  that  are  found  in  a 
good  spelling  book  and  important  as  are  the  words 
that  are  presented  in  any  of  the  well-known  spelling 
lists,  the  teacher  must  bear  in  mind  that  they  do  not 
include  all  the  words  that  her  children  need  to  know 
how  to  spell.  Obviously  no  spelling  book  would 
contain  very  many  local  words  unless  it  were  one 
meant  purely  for  local  use.  But  no  ready-made 
list  will  serve  the  teacher  and  the  school  nearly  so 
well  as  will  a  list  which  the  school  itself  makes. 

The  original  lists  may  be  of  different  kinds  and 
may  have  a  variety  of  purposes  in  addition  to  the 
purpose  of  teaching  spelling. 

The  first  and  most  important  original  list  is  that 
which  each  child  makes  for  himself.  This  may  in- 
clude words  which  he  finds  difficulty  in  original 
spelling,  words  which  he  is  adding  to  his  ^^^*^ 
vocabulary,  words  with  certain  peculiarities,  and 
words  that  are  names  of  types  of  things  in  which 
he  is  interested. 

Next  in  importance  is  the  Class  List  or  the  School 
List  which  represents  some  special  interest  of  the 

99 


100    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

group  for  a  particular  time.  This  list  should  be 
made  under  the  white  heat  of  enthusiasm  in  some 
Class  or  specialized  interest.  There  should  be  a 
School  fixed  time  at  which  the  list  must  be  com- 
pleted. Some  particular  phase  of  the  sub- 
ject should  be  considered  each  day.  All  members  of 
the  class  should  contribute  to  the  list.  For  a  time 
the  regular  spelling  assignment  for  each  pupil  should 
be  to  bring  to  class  as  many  words  as  possible 
bearing  upon  the  subject.  When  the  lists  have  been 
completed,  then  there  should  be  a  season  of  mem- 
orization and  testing.  The  best  way,  perhaps,  to 
secure  the  maximum  of  interested  attention  and 
at  the  same  time  to  provide  for  repetition,  so  neces- 
sary in  speUing,  is  to  review  the  work  in  a  spelling 
bee  at  the  close  of  the  special  study. 

Through  such  a  Class  or  School  List,  any  special 
interest  of  community,  county,  or  state  may  be 
studied.  The  aim  should  be  very  definite  in  order 
to  get  the  best  results. 

The  rural  training  schools  connected  with  the 
Oregon  Normal  School,  while  under  the  direction 
of  one  of  the  authors,  made  a  Willamette  Valley 
Spelling  Book.  The  purpose  of  this  book  was  to 
see  what  agricultural  words  were  needed  partic- 
ularly by  the  farmers  of  that  valley.  A  similar 
experiment  has  been  conducted  in  Brown  County, 
South  Dakota,  in  connection  with  the  supervision 
of  rural  schools. 


SPELLING  LISTS  MADE  BY  THE  SCHOOL    101 

THE   BKOWN  COUNTY  SPELLING  BOOK 

During  the  month  of  December,  1919,  sixteen 
schools  undertook  to  make  a  Brown  County  Spelling 
Book.  Ten  days  were  set  aside  for  collecting  the 
words  that  related  to  ten  different  subjects  of  special 
interest  in  Brown  County.  After  the  words  were 
collected,  the  pupils  were  allowed  ten  days  in  which 
to  learn  them  in  preparation  for  a  big  spelling  bee 
held  in  the  town  of  Warner  on  December  19.  Those 
words  are  given  below,  not  because  they  are  of  any 
special  worth  to  those  living  outside  Brown  County, 
but  to  illustrate  how  this  type  of  work  may  be  done. 

The  children  spelled  the  words  and  then  used 
them  in  sentences  which  stated  actual  facts.  Sug- 
gestive sentences  and  phrases  are  given  with  the 
words  under  the  first  topic  to  show  how  this  work 
was  done.  The  reader  will  see  how  similar  sen- 
tences could  be  made  in  which  all  the  other  words 
of  the  list  might  be  used. 

No.  I.  —  Words  and  Phrases  Dealing  with  the  History  of 
Brown  County  and  South  Dakota 

1.  Clarence  Johnson    .     Clarence  Johnson  was  one  of 

the  first  settlers  of  Brown 
County. 

2.  William  Young   .     .     William  Young  was  his  friend. 

3.  Hattie  Young      .     .    Hattie    Young    was   the  sister 

of  William  Young  who  came 
with  him. 

4.  frontiersmen  .    .    .    They  were  good  frontiersmen. 


102    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


5.  Missouri  River    . 

6.  trail  .... 

7.  Fort  Pierre     . 

8.  Fort  Sisseton  . 
9.'  Military  Road 

10.  first  home  .     . 

11.  established 

12.  parallel  1     .     . 

13.  crosses  J     ,     . 

14.  log  cabin  1  .     . 

15.  settlers     J .     . 

16.  accident     .     . 

17.  incident      .     . 

18.  plow      .    .    . 


19.  James  C.  Lindboe 


20.  dugout  .    .    . 

21.  public  meeting 


22.  post  office  .    . 

23.  Columbia  .    . 


The  Missouri  River  is  the  largest 
river  in*South  Dakota. 

They  came  along  the  old  trail. 

Fort  Pierre  was  the  first  fort 
built  in  the  state. 

Fort  Sisseton  was  another  well- 
known  fort. 

Military  Road  is  another  name 
for  the  old  trail. 

The  first  home  in  South  Dakota 
was  a  log  cabin. 

Ordway  was  established  in  1887. 

The  forty-sixth  parallel  crosses 
the  county. 

The  early  settlers  lived  in  log 
cabins. 

They  suffered  no  accidents  dur- 
ing the  first  year. 

There  were  no  unusual  in- 
cidents during  the  year. 

A  plow  was  used  in  Brown 
County  in  1880  for  the  first 
time. 

James  C.  Lindboe  is  the  name 
of  the  first  child  born  in  the 
county. 

He  lived  in  a  dugout. 

The  first  public  meeting  was 
held  in  Brown  County  on 
July  4,  1879. 

The  first  post  office  was  estab- 
lished at  Columbia. 

Columbia  is  the  site  of  the 
first  post  office  in  the  county. 


SPELLING  LISTS  MADE  BY  THE  SCHOOL    103 


24.  James  Humphrey 

25.  Brown  County    . 


27. 

election      .... 

28. 

Brown  Brothers  .     . 

29. 

automobile      .     .     . 

30. 

Mr.  Baird  .... 

31. 

airplane      .... 

32. 

Thomas  A.  Boyden 

33. 

oxen 

34. 

population      .     .     . 

35. 

Ordway      .     .     .     . 

36. 

Aberdeen   .    .    .    . 

37. 

railroad      .     .     .     . 

38. 

Chicago      .     .     .     . 

39. 

Milwaukee      .     .     . 

40. 

Saint  Paul      .     .     . 

41.  James  River  . 


James  Humphrey  established 
Rondell  in  1880. 

Brown  County  is  a  county  in  the 
state  of  South  Dakota. 

It  was  organized  in  1880. 

The  first  election  was  held  in 
1880. 

Brown  Brothers  owned  the  first 
automobile  in  the  county. 

We  have  thousands  of  automo- 
biles now. 

Mr,  Baird  owned  the  first  air- 
plane in  the  county. 

We  shall  all  have  airplanes  soon. 

Thomas  A.  Boyden  was  the  first 
merchant  in  the  county. 

Oxen  drew  the  first  wagon  that 
came  to  the  county. 

The  population  was  25,786  for 
the  county  in  1910. 

Ordway  was  one  of  the  impor- 
tant towns  of  the  state  in 
early  days. 

Aberdeen  is  the  best  town  in 
the  state,  we  think. 

The  C.  M.  &  St.  P.  is  our  most 
important  railroad. 

Chicago  is  the  commercial  cen- 
ter of  the  Middle  West. 

Milwaukee  is  a  famous  city. 

Saint  Paul  is  one  of  the  twin 
cities. 

James  River  is  the  only  river 
in  this  county. 


104    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


42.   Mistress  Seaman 


Mistress  Seaman  was  one  of  the 
first  teachers  of  the  county. 


No.  II.  —  Words  and  Phrases  Dealing  with  Brown  County 


,  1.  black  loam 

2.  sandy  loam 

3.  gumbo 

4.  glacial  deposits 

5.  gravel 

6.  productive 

7.  clay 

8.  subsoil 

No.   III.  — Words 

1.  wheat 

2.  oats 

3.  corn 

4.  barley 

5.  spelt 

6.  millet 

7.  alfalfa 

8.  forage 

9.  Dent  com 

10.  rye 

11.  flax 

12.  potatoes 

13.  beets 


Soil 

9.  stratum 

10.  strata 

11.  agricultural 

12.  fertile 

13.  alkali 

14.  porous 

15.  valuable 


and    Phrases    Dealing    with    Brown 
County  Crops 

14.  beans 

15.  pumpkin 

16.  squash 

17.  carrot 

18.  peas 

19.  onion 

20.  timothy 

21.  brome  grass 

22.  pigeon  grass 

23.  clover 

24.  sweet  clover 

25.  foliage 

26.  tomatoes 


No.  IV.  —  Words  and  Phrases  Dealing  with  Crop  Pests  in 
Brown  County 

1.  hot  winds  3.  smut 

2.  rust  4.  hail 


SPELLING  LISTS  MADE  BY  THE  SCHOOL    105 


5. 

gopher 

15. 

wild  mustard 

6. 

squirrels 

16. 

sunflowers 

7. 

grasshopper 

17. 

Canadian  thistle 

8. 

crickets 

18. 

drought 

9. 

cut  worms 

19. 

fungi 

10. 

potato  bug 

20. 

mildew 

11. 

potato  scab 

21. 

potato  blight 

12. 

cabbage  worm 

22. 

Hessian  fly- 

13. 

quack  grass 

23. 

tumble  weed 

14. 

wild  oats 

24. 

mortgage 

No, 

.  V.  —  Words  and  Phrases  that  Relate  to  Some  Allies  o 

Brown  County  Farmers 

1. 

hawks 

16. 

snake 

2. 

meadow  larks 

17. 

toads 

3. 

robins 

18. 

bacteria 

4. 

magpies 

19. 

inoculate 

5. 

swallows 

20. 

Bordeaux  mixture 

6. 

thrushes 

21. 

formalin 

7. 

flickers 

22. 

fungicide 

8. 

pheasant 

23. 

humus 

9. 

prairie  chicken 

24. 

Paris  green 

10. 

pollen 

25. 

cow  testing  association 

11. 

bees 

26. 

parcel  post 

12. 

ants 

27. 

spHt  log  drag 

13. 

cats 

28. 

snow 

14. 

dogs 

29. 

rain 

15. 

foxes 

30. 

sunshine 

No.  VI.  —  Words  Dealing  with  the  Pure-bred  Animals  and 
Fowls  in  Brown  County 

1.   Horses:  2.   Hogs:  3.   Chickens: 

Percheron  Poland  China  Plymouth  Rock* 

Belgian  Berkshire  Wyandotte 


106    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 


1.  Horses:          2. 

Hogs:                 3.   Chickens: 

Clydesdale 

Duroc-Jersey           Rhode  Island  Red 

thoroughbred 

Chester  White        Orpington 

mule 

Yorkshire                Leghorn 

Hampshire              Buff  Cochin 

Langshan 

4.   Cattle:            5. 

Turkeys:            8.  Descriptive  words: 

Durham 

a.  black                   draft 

Shorthorn 

h.  bronze                 roadster 

Hereford 

dual  purpose 

Guernsey        6. 

Geese :                      hardy 

Holstein 

a.  Toulouse             rustler 

Brown  Swiss 

h.  African                docile 

Galloway 

vicious 

Aberdeen        7. 

Ducks :                     gentle 

Angus 

a.  Pekin                  sensible 

Ayrshire 

b.  Indian                 prolific 

Holstein- 

Runners          stubborn 

Friesian 

milch 

beef 

pedigreed 

No.  VII.  —  Words  and  Phrases  Relating  to  an  Up-to-date 

] 

Brown  County  Barn 

1.  electric  lights 

10.   silo 

2.  water  system 

11.   ensilage 

3.   stanchion 

12.  automatic  water  bowls 

4.   cement  floor 

13.   salt  dishes 

5.   hay  sling 

14.  ventilation 

6.  elevator 

15.   light 

7.   electric  currycomb          16.   granary 

8.   feed  bins 

17.  tool  shed 

9.  cupola 

18.   haymow 

SPELLING  LISTS  MADE  BY  THE  SCHOOL    107 


No. 

,  VIII.  —  Words  and  Phrases  Relating  to  an  Up-to-date 

Brown  County  Farm 

1. 

garage 

22. 

fertihzer 

2. 

Ford 

23. 

barnyard  manure 

3. 

electric  motor 

24. 

mulch 

4. 

gravel  roads 

25. 

farm  accounting 

5. 

cement  walks 

26. 

insecticide 

6. 

artesian  well 

27. 

legumes 

7. 

water  system 

28. 

Babcock  milk  tester 

8. 

pressure  tank 

29. 

balanced  ration 

9. 

machine  shed 

30. 

germination  test 

10. 

ice  house 

31. 

silage 

11. 

shredder 

32. 

tile  drain 

12. 

harvester 

33. 

garden 

13. 

gasoUne  engine 

34. 

brooder 

14. 

horse  power 

35. 

bulletins 

15. 

kerosene 

36. 

candling  eggs 

16. 

cultivator 

37. 

college  extension 

17. 

header 

38. 

conservation 

18. 

binder 

39. 

county  agent 

19. 

formaldehyde 

40. 

diversified  farming 

20. 

irrigation 

41. 

bank  credit 

21. 

rotation 

No, 

.   IX.  —  Words  and  Phrases  Relating  to  an  Up-to-date 

( 

Country  Home 

1. 

furnace 

8. 

porcelain  bathtub 

2. 

electric  engine 

9. 

sun  porch 

3. 

telephone 

10. 

piano 

4. 

sewer  system 

11. 

victrola 

5. 

septic  tank 

12. 

indoor  toilet 

6. 

electric    washer, 

fan,     13. 

motor  power 

iron,  stove 

14. 

Rural  Free  Dehvery 

7. 

cement  basement 

15. 

running  water 

108    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

16.  linoleum  22.  vacuum  cleaner 

17.  standard  pictures  23.   ventilation 

18.  newspapers  24.   flowers 

19.  ''Farm  Journal"  25.   balanced  meals 

20.  ''Good  Housekeeping"  26.   kitchen  accounting 

21.  County  Health  Nurse 

No.  X.  —  Words  Relating  to  an  Up-to-date  Brown 
County  Community 

1.  community  church  8.  brass  band 

2.  consolidated  schools  9.  Boy  Scouts 

3.  cooperation  10.  Camp  Fire  Girls 

4.  fairs  11.  traveling  library 

5.  housekeepers'  club  12.  grange 

6.  literary  society  13.  motor  bus 

7.  choral  society  14.  Farm  Bureau 

We  have  heard  a  good  deal  about  spelling  being 
taught  incidentally  with  other  subjects,  but  we  have 
Value  of  heard  practically  nothing  of  other  subjects 
the  List  being  taught  incidentally  with  spelling.  A 
vation  of  perusal  of  the  foregoing  list  will  show  just 
other  how  many  other  subjects  can  be  taught 

incidentally  with  such  a  homemade  list  of 
words  as  the  above.  One  farmer  remarked:  "I 
have  had  at  least  one  child  in  the  school  each  year, 
for  four  years  now,  who  was  supposed  to  study 
agriculture  out  of  a  book,  but  they  have  learned 
more  agriculture  in  the  last  ten  days  and  taught  me 
more  than  we  all  have  learned  in  the  previous  four 
years.''    Another  farmer  said:   "Say,  Mister,  my 


SPELLING  LISTS  MADE  BY  THE  SCHOOL     109 

youngsters  haven't  been  studying  at  home  for  a 
long  time.  I  supposed  that  it  had  gone  out  of  style 
to  study  at  home  o'  nights  any  more  like  they  used 
to  in  the  old  days,  but  bless  my  life  if  it  hasn't  come 
back  with  a  whiz  since  you  have  been  making  that 
Brown  County  Spelling  Book.  Why  —  they  have 
rooted  through  all  of  the  old  farm  journals  that  have 
been  lying  around  the  house  for  years.  The  first 
time  the  library's  been  opened  in  years  was  this  week. 
Those  youngsters  keep  me  and  the  Missus  ran- 
sacking our  brains  to  recall  what  happened  when 
we  first  came  to  this  county  twenty-five  years  ago.'' 
Another  farmer  said:  "Say,  what  are  you  trying 
to  do?  Put  the  city  in  the  country?  Since  my 
chaps  have  been  making  that  Brown  County 
Spelling  Book  they  tell  me  twenty  times  a  day  that 
something  around  here  is  not  up  to  the  twentieth 
century  standard." 

The  above  illustrations  are  sufficient  to  show  how 
the  simple  work  of  the  spelling  class  had  influenced 
the  life  of  the  home.  The  parents  were  participat- 
ing actively  in  the  work  of  the  school.  Home  life, 
agriculture,  social  activities,  history,  geography, 
morals,  etc.,  were  being  taught  in  connection  with 
the  making  of  a  mere  list  of  words  to  be  used  in  a 
spelling  match. 

This  idea  is  capable  of  almost  limitless  applica- 
tion. Geography,  history,  industry,  home  life, 
church  life,  community  activities,  and  many  other 


110     GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

subjects  could  be  studied  in  an  introductory  or 
review  fashion  in  connection  with  speUing. 

To  illustrate  the  use  to  which  such  work  can  be 
put,  suppose  a  teacher  in  the  state  of  Maine  were 
to  say  to  her  spelling  class:  "For  to-morrow,  I 
want  you  to  bring  to  class  the  names  of  all  the  rivers 
in  the  state  that  you  can  find."  Among  the  words 
would  be  Penobscot,  Kennebec,  Androscoggin,  Alla- 
gash,  and  Saco.  For  the  pupil  to  study  the  words 
in  this  way  would  be  vastly  better  than  for  the 
teacher  to  choose  those  same  words  from  a  regular 
spelling  book,  or  for  her  to  pick  them  out  of  the 
geography.  The  children  like  to  contribute  to  the 
list  by  their  own  efforts  and  when  this  is  done  in 
pursuance  of  some  object  in  which  they  are  inter- 
ested, they  have  two  interests  that  lead  them  on 
instead  of  one. 

This  type  of  spelling  work  should  come  as  a  change, 
a  vacation  from  regular  spelling  work  with  the  book. 
About  one  month  out  of  the  year  could  be  devoted 
profitably  to  work  of  this  sort. 

Summary 

The  spelling  lists  which  the  teacher  and  the  children 
compile  for  themselves  can  be  made  of  incalculable  worth. 
The  lists  that  the  child  makes  of  the  words  which  he 
misses  from  day  to  day,  the  lists  that  he  makes  in  which 
he  groups  words  with  common  characteristics,  or  of  words 
that  relate  to  one  of  his  special  interests,  are  for  him  the 
most  important  kinds  of  lists. 


SPELLING  LISTS  MADE  BY  THE  SCHOOL    111 

In  this  chapter  the  attention  has  been  directed  to  a  list 
that  was  made  by  the  children  in  a  certain  selected  district 
of  Brown  County,  South  Dakota,  during  the  year  1919-20. 
We  give  this  as  a  type.  Such  a  Hst  can  be  made  by  any 
teacher  and  group  of  children  in  any  locahty.  Such  a 
study  will  provide  an  opportunity  to  familiarize  the 
children  with  some  phase  of  life  in  the  community  in 
which  the  school  is  located,  and  wiU  help  them  to  learn 
to  spell  the  words  common  to  that  locality. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Have  all  of  the  children  of  your  school  make 
individual  lists  of  all  the  words  they  miss  during  one 
month.  How  many  words  are  common  to  all  the  mem- 
bers of  each  class?  To  any  two  classes?  To  the  entire 
school?  What  conclusion  do  you  make  from  the  results 
of  the  comparisons? 

2.  What  one  interest  in  your  community  could  be 
studied  most  effectively  according  to  the  plan  used  in  the 
Brown  County  experiment? 

3.  Check  the  Brown  County  list  to  see  what  words  in 
it  should  become  a  part  of  the  permanent  writing  vocabu- 
lary of  your  pupils.  If  you  had  been  one  of  the  teachers 
in  the  experimenting  group,  how  would  you  have  dealt 
with  the  words  which  you  did  not  consider  valuable  as  a 
part  of  the  writing  vocabulary? 

4.  Would  you  justify  the  making  of  such  a  list  purely 
on  the  basis  of  its  worth  in  fixing  habits  of  speUing? 
Why? 


CHAPTER  W 
DEVICES  FOR  TEACHING  SPELLING 

In  Part  I  of  this  book  we  discussed  some  of  the 
psychological  principles  underlying  the  teaching  of 
spelling.  There  are  other  psychological  factors, 
though,  that  must  be  recognized  and  borne  in  mind. 
We  wish  at  this  point  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
teacher  to  the  factors  that  relate  to  the  child^s  love 
for  play  and  his  responses  to  others  in  his  group. 

One  of  the  original  tendencies  of  man  is  to  play. 
He  may  play  with  things  or  persons.  He  gets 
pleasure  out  of  things  if  he  can  manipulate  them, 
change  them,  build  them  up,  take  them  apart, 
rearrange  them,  destroy  them.  He  gets  more 
pleasure  out  of  persons  because  his  play  nature  is 
given  larger  scope.  He  may  tease,  bully,  or  submit 
to  a  person.  He  may  compete  with  and  master  a 
person.  His  desire  for  companionship,  his  pleasure 
at  doing  what  he  sees  others  do,  his  satisfaction  at 
seeing  his  own  accomplishments  imitated  by  others, 
are  all  given  exercise  when  he  is  associated  with 
persons.  Practically  all  the  devices  that  are  in- 
cluded in  this  book  are  based  upon  these  psycho- 

112 


DEVICES  FOR  TEACHING  SPELLING     113 

logical  characteristics  in  man :  his  love  for  manipula- 
tion, association,  and  competition. 

The  child's  nature  is  the  nearest  approach  we 
have  to  the  original  nature  of  man.  The  child 
spends  practically  all  his  life  in  play  till  he  enters 
school.  In  the  past  we  have  too  often  felt  and 
have  made  the  child  feel  that  all  play  must  stop 
when  he  enters  school.  When  we  insist  upon  this, 
we  are  trying  to  dam  up  a  channel  which  the  ages 
have  dug. 

Psychologists  tell  us  that  there  are  three  ways 
with  which  to  deal  with  original  tendencies :  (1)  crush 
them,  (2)  direct  them  into  new  channels,  (3)  develop 
them.  There  are  practically  none  of  man's  original 
tendencies  and  instincts  that  we  should  crush. 
There  are  many  that  we  should  develop  and  many 
that  we  should  guide  into  new  channels.  Play  is 
one  of  the  tendencies  that  should  be  guided  into 
right  channels  and  cultivated  to  produce  the  best 
results.  Children  get  their  clearest  initial  im- 
pressions, do  their  most  attentive  work,  repeat 
action  or  speeches  more  often  with  interested  at- 
tention, and  apply  what  is  learned  more  quickly 
and  with  more  satisfactory  results  when  they  are 
playing  than  at  any  other  time.  This  is  our  only  ex- 
cuse for  introducing  the  following  games  and  devices 
into  a  book  that  is  designed  as  a  scientific  inspira- 
tion and  a  practical  help  to  teachers  of  spelling. 
Our  one  word  of  caution  is  that  the  teacher  must 


114    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

not  make  the  game  her  hobby.  She  must  not  feel 
that  there  should  never  be  a  time  when  the  children 
are  asked  to  take  work  as  work.  She  should  rather 
feel  that  the  game  is  a  sort  of  rest  from  work. 
Play  itself  would  lose  its  meaning  and  pleasure  if 
all  life  were  play.  "Moderation  in  everything/' 
then,  should  be  the  teaoher^s  aim. 

Small  children  are  very  fond  of  pictures.  They 
like  to  construct  things.  They  like  to  collect  things. 
They  like  to  give  to  inanimate  objects  char- 
Repre-  acteristics  of  animate  objects.  Their 
sentations  |)QQ]^g^  pictures,  and  playthings  are  to  them 
almost  what  persons  are  to  older  people.  For  these 
reasons,  the  following  devices  are  good  in  the  lower 
grades. 

Take  a  picture  of  a  house,  bam,  yard,  field,  apple, 
peach,  leaf,  tree,  or  any  other  object  that  will  sug- 
1.  Objects  S^^^  ^^  ^^^  pupils  a  number  of  associated 
Pictured      words.    Write  the  words  within  the  outer 

with 

Words  border  of  the  picture  and  have  the  pupils 
Inside  study  from  this.  Use  the  picture  at  the 
recitation  time.  The  children  may  make  the  draw- 
ing after  the  class  for  seat  work  and  write  in  the 
words  as  a  penmanship  lesson. 

This  device  could  be  extended  by  not  having  any 
particular  list  of  words,  but  by  merely  putting  the 
picture  on  the  board.  Then  have  the  children  pre- 
pare the  list  of  words  that  the  picture  suggests. 
They  may  bring  them  to  class.    For  the  first  recita- 


DEVICES  FOR  TEACHING  SPELLING      115 

tion,  the  class  Hstens  to  the  reading  of  the  various 
lists.  They  hear  each  child  spell  his  list  of  words. 
If  any  words  have  been  misspelled,  these  should  be 
memorized  in-  their  proper  form  for  the  next  lesson. 
The  picture  may  be  kept  on  the  board  until  the  list 
of  words  has  been  completely  learned. 

Special  spelling  booklets  may  be  made  for  the 
various  months  or  seasons  of  the  year.  These  books 
should  contain  the  words  that  have  been  2.  Seasonal 
spelled  during  the  period  and  the  cover  Booklets 
design  should  be  one  appropriate  to  the  month  or 
season.  The  cover  should  be  the  product  of  the 
child's  own  originality  and  creation.  This  will 
serve  to  stimulate  and  motivate  not  only  the  work 
in  spelling  but  that  in  drawing  also. 

VISUALIZING 

In  Part  I,  we  have  already  emphasized  the  im- 
portance of  having  the  child  learn  through  as  many 
senses  as  possible.  It  was  also  pointed  out  that 
the  most  important  of  these  senses  in  learning  to 
spell  is  the  sense  of  sight.  Practice,  therefore,  in 
Adsualizing  the  words  needs  to  be  given  to  the 
children.  Here  are  some  devices  that  are  usable 
for  this  purpose.  The  teacher  can  improvise  others 
if  she  desires. 

1.  Write  the  words  on  the  board  very  plainly. 
Have  the  children  spell  the  word  letter  by  letter. 
Then  have  the  children  close  their  eyes.    As  each 


116    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

child  is  tapped  on  the  head,  he  gives  the  letter  that 
is  needed  until  the  word  being  spelled  is  complete. 

2.  Write  the  words  on  the  board.  Have  the 
children  look  at  them.  Then  direct  the  children  to 
rest  their  heads  on  their  desks  with  their  eyes  closed. 
Cover  a  word  or  erase  a  word  and  ask  the  children 
to  look  up  and  spell  the  word  that  is  missing. 

3.  Assign  a  number  of  words  for  the  lesson  to  be 
learned.  When  the  lesson  is  prepared,  have  one  or 
more  of  the  children  go  to  the  board  and  write  a  cer- 
tain number  of  the  words.  Have  those  who  remained 
at  the  seats  go  to  the  board  and  write  all  the  words 
which  the  first  group  failed  to  write.  If  the  lesson 
is  short,  all  members  of  the  class  might  be  sent  to 
the  board  at  one  time.  To  reproduce  a  list  of  words 
without  a  book  calls  for  clear  and  effective  visualizing. 

4.  To  build  words  on  a  given  stem  or  with  a 
certain  initial  or  final  letter  or  syllable  calls  for  good 
visualization.  Take  such  a  syllable  as  an,  am,  ail, 
Jul,  ly,  con,  or  ex,  and  see  how  many  words  can  be 
built  upon  it  within  a  certain  number  of  minutes. 
If  the  work  ends  at  this  point  we  have  a  language 
lesson  and  not  a  spelling  lesson.  Of  the  words  thus 
built  we  should  select  the  misspelled  ones  for  the 
next  lesson. 

GUESSES 

Children  like  to  guess.  "Guess  What"  is  one  of 
their  favorite  games.    This  can  be  used  to  good 


DEVICES  FOR  TEACHING  SPELLING      117 

effect  in  schooL  It  calls  for  clear  visualization  and 
it  secures  attentive,  interested  repetition.  The 
following  two  illustrations  show  how  this  may  be 
done: 

1.  The  lesson  consists  of  six  words :  kitchen, 
sugar,  kettle,  stove,  fire,  candy.  Sue  is  selected  as 
the  leader.  She  stands  and  says,  "Jane,  I  am 
thinking  of  a  word."  Jane  rises  and  says,  "Is  it 
k-e-t-t-1-e,  kettle?"  Sue  replies,  "It  is  not 
k-e-t-t-1-e,  kettle."  John  rises  and  says:  "Is  it 
c-a-n-d-y,  candy  ?  "  Sue  says :  "  Yes,  it  is  c-a-n-d-y, 
candy."  Then  John  becomes  the  leader.  Thus  the 
words  may  be  gone  over  a  number  of  times  until 
they  are  well  learned. 

2.  The  next  device  is  just  a  sHght  variation  of  the 
one  given  above.  Suppose  there  is  a  longer  hst 
of  words,  the  same  group  of  children,  and  the  same 
goal  in  view  —  drilling  upon  the  group  of  words 
until  the  spelling  of  them  becomes  automatic.  In 
this  case  the  child  leading  would  say,  "I  am  think- 
ing of  a  word  that  begins  with  f."  Some  one  would 
rise  and  say,  "Is  it  f-i-r-e,  fire?"  The  leader  would 
then  reply,  "Yes,  it  is  f-i-r-e,  fire."  This  device 
should  be  used  only  when  the  list  is  much  longer 
than  in  the  ordinary  lesson,  for  the  beginning  letter 
is  such  a  good  cue  that  the  word  in  question  would 
be  guessed  the  first  time  and  thus  prevent  the  de- 
sired amount  of  drill.  This  device  is  good  for  a 
weekly  or  monthly  review. 


118    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 
EEWARDS 

The  question  of  rewards  for  school  work  has  ever 
been  a  mooted  one.  It  is  now  quite  generally 
agreed  that  rewards  that  have  a  money  value  in 
themselves  should  not  be  given  for  excellence  in 
ordinary  school  work.  But  we  must  all  realize 
that  all  work  is  done  for  some  sort  of  reward  and 
whatever  reward  is  offered  should  be  such  that  each 
member  of  the  class  has  a  chance  to  secure  it.  The 
reward  that  is  most  potent  in  its  influence  upon 
conduct  and  effort  is  perhaps  that  which  we  receive 
in  the  form  of  appreciation  or  approval  from  others. 
Here  again  we  find  the  original  instincts  or  tendencies 
manifesting  themselves  —  the  instinct  of  apprecia- 
tion of  the  approval  of  others  and  the  instinct  of 
love  of  superiority  over  others  and  a  recognition 
by  others  of  that  same  superiority.  We  give  below 
a  few  illustrations  of  devices  that  make  use  of  these 
original  tendencies  to  a  limited  degree : 

1.  The  teacher  draws  a  picture  of  a  large  pumpkin, 
watermelon,  apple,  peach,  pie,  or  other  object,  on  the 
board.  She  indicates  that  it  is  divided  into  pieces. 
On  each  piece  of  the  object  pictured  she  writes  some 
word  of  the  lesson.  The  game  is  to  see  who  can  spell  all 
the  words.  Every  child  who  spells  correctly  all  the  words 
in  the  lesson  gets  one  of  the  pieces  with  his  name  written 
on  that  piece. 

2.  One  of  the  oldest  and  most  common  rewards  for 
class  excellence  is  the  custom  of  giving  honor  marks  to  a 
child  who  stands  at  the  head  of  his  class  for  one  recitation, 


DEVICES  FOR  TEACHING  SPELLING     119 

or  more,  according  to  agreement.  The  chief  weakness  of 
this  plan  is  that  it  can,  of  course,  be  used  only  for  oral 
spelling  work. 

3.  Another  form  of  reward  that  appeals  to  children 
in  the  elementary  grades  is  to  award  stars  to  them  for  a 
certain  degree  of  excellence.  White  stars  may  be  put  by 
the  child's  name  for  each  perfect  recitation;  blue  stars 
may  be  awarded  for  five  perfect  lessons ;  red  stars  for  ten 
perfect  lessons ;  and  gold  stars  for  twenty  perfect  lessons 
in  succession.  This  device  can  be  varied  according  to  the 
teacher's  desire  and  the  situation  in  her  own  school. 

4.  To  write  on  the  board,  at  the  end  of  the  week,  the 
name  of  each  child  who  has  made  a  perfect  record  for  the 
week  is  a  good  stimulus. 

5.  Very  closely  akin  to  this  is  to  have  an  honor  roll  for 
the  month  and  to  publish  in  the  local  paper  or  in  the 
school  paper  the  names  of  all  children  who  have  attained 
a  certain  record  during  the  specified  time. 

6.  Another  plan  that  is  sometimes  used  with  effect  is 
the  class  honor  badge  made  of  aluminum  or  some  other 
metal  on  which  is  written  the  words,  "Champion  Speller." 
When  a  child  has  been  the  champion  for  a  week  he  is 
permitted  to  wear  the  badge  until  the  new  champion  is 
declared. 

OLD   GAMES 

The  devices  thus  far  discussed  have  been  such  as 
to  apply  more  particularly  to  the  work  with  smaller 
children.  Much  of  this  work  has  appealed  to  the 
individual  only.  But  as  children  grow  older  they 
become  more  gregarious.  They  form  cliques,  groups, 
gangs,  and  clans.  They  like  to  play  and  to  fight 
in  groups.    To  get  the  best  individual  effort  from 


120    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

them,  the  appeal  must  be  made  to  the  group  conscious- 
ness and  spirit.  Their  games  on  the  playgrounds 
are  such  as  are  played  by  one  group  matching  its  wit 
and  strength  against  the  wit  and  strength  of  the 
other  group.  The  games  of  the  school  work  should 
be  classed  according  to  the  same  principle.  The 
games  adapted  to  spelling  which  are  suggested  here 
do  not  call  for  a  group  against  a  group,  but  they  all 
involve  group  activities. 

The  children  are  lined  up  in  one  row  for  the  game. 
The  teacher  gives  each  child  two  words.  All  who 
^,    ,  spell  their  two  words  correctly  move  one 

Checkers        ^  .  '^ 

place  to  the  next  station.  Those  who  do 
not  spell  both  words  correctly  must  wait  one  more 
turn  before  they  are  permitted  to  move.  There  are 
four  stations  in  the  game  from  the  time  the  child 
starts  till  he  gets  back  home,  —  his  own  desk.  That 
is,  each  child  must  spell  at  least  eight  words.  The 
poor  speller  spells  more ;  the  more  poorly  he  spells, 
the  more  turns  he  has.  This  is  the  great  advantage 
of  this  game  —  practice  is  given  where  practice  is 
needed. 

Into  a  box  (a  pool)  are  placed  the  words  that  are 
to  be  spelled.    Each  child  takes  his  turn  at  fishing 

for  a  word.    He  catches  one  and  hands  it 

Fishing  1  1  rii  •  1  • 

to  the  teacher.  She  pronounces  it  to  mm. 
If  he  writes  it  correctly,  it  becomes  his  fish;  if 
not,  it  is  the  teacher^s  fish.  It  is  saved  and  he 
is  taught  the  word.    The  game  is  to  see  who  can  get 


DEVICES  FOR  TEACHING  SPELLING     121 

the  greatest  number  of  fish.  If  the  children  are 
small,  this  game  may  be  adapted  and  called  "Jack 
Horner^s  Pie.'' 

The  children  all  stand  at  their  seats.    One  child 
is    designated    as    Puss.    The    teacher  gives   out 
words  to  the  children  in  their  turn.    Each  p^^g 
child  spells  his  word  if  he  can.    If  he  Wants  a 
misses,  then  Puss  has  a  chance  to  spell  it.     °™®' 
If  Puss  succeeds,  she  takes  his  station  and  the  one 
missing  the  word  becomes  the  Puss. 

Very  similar  to  "Puss  Wants  a  Comer"  is 
"Mushpot.''  The  children  form  a  ring.  One  child 
is  put   into   the  pot.    When   some  one  „   ^ 

.  ,       ,  .        ,  ,  Mushpot 

misses  a  word,  the  one  m  the  mushpot 

spells  it.     If  he  spells  it,  he  takes  a  place  in  the 

ring  and  the  one  missing  it  takes  the  place  in  the 

mushpot. 

During  the  winter  the  snowball  is  a  good  device. 
Draw  a  picture  of  the  snowball  with  a  child  pushing 
it.    The  words  of  the  speUing  lesson  are  j^^. 
written   on  pieces   of  paper.    They   are  the  Snow- 
divided  among  the  children.    When  they  ^^ 
are  spelled,  then  they  are  pinned  on  the  snowball. 
This  is  called  "rolling  the  ball."    When  all  words 
are  on  it,  then  they  begin  to  "imroll  it"  by  taking 
the  words  off  and  spelling  them  as  they  come  off. 
When  they  are  all  off,  the  ball  is  melted. 

This  is  a  game  that  all  children  enjoy  because  they 
Uke  to  imagine  themselves  traveling.    It  is  played 


122    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

by  appointing  a  number  of  ticket  agents  to  repre- 
sent the  different  cities  that  the  children  decide  to 
Seeing  the  visit  on  that  particular  trip.  Each  agent 
World  ig  provided  with  a  number  of  words 
which  the  children  must  spell  before  they  can 
board  the  train  or  boat  and  get  away  from  that 
city.  This  is  another  good  game  for  a  monthly 
review  lesson. 

The  best  game  of  all,  perhaps,  for  the  children  in 
the  grammar  grades  is  the  game  of  baseball.  It  is 
«     ,  «      played  just  like  ordinary  baseball.     The 

BasebaU  .  -      ,  , 

captams  oi  the  teams  choose  batters. 
The  teacher  serves  as  scorer  and  umpire.  The 
namqs  are  written  down  in  the  order  chosen.  Nine 
vertical  columns  are  placed  beside  the  names  of 
each  team.  These  represent  innings.  The  teacher,  or 
some  one  else,  ''  pitches  "  words  to  the  batter.  If  he 
hits  three  times  he  goes  to  first  base  and  is  succeeded 
by  another  batter.  Each  time  that  a  man  goes 
around  the  bases,  he  makes  a  score  for  his  team. 
If  he  misses  a  word  when  it  is  given  him,  the  catcher 
spells  it.  Then  he  is  out.  When  three  men  are  out, 
the  other  side  takes  the  bat. 

SPELLING  MATCHES 

No  device  for  review  has  been  found  that  excels 
the  old-fashioned  spelling  matches.  These  are 
based  on  the  group  spirit  and  the  instincts  of  rivalry 
and  mastery.    There  are  many  forms  that  the  match 


DEVICES  FOR  TEACHING  SPELLING      123 

may  take.    We  give  below  a  few   of  the  more 
common  forms : 

Two  captains  choose  the  spellers.    The  teacher 
gives  out  the  words.     If  any  one  misses  a  word,  he 
sits  down.    The  side  that  has  a  member  ^^ 
standing  when  all  members  of  the  other  Common 
side  have  been  seated  is  the  champion.      ^*^^ 
The  weakness  of  this  plan  is  that  the  poorest  spellers 
are  seated  first. 

Sides  are  chosen  just  as  in  the  conmion  match. 
The  teacher  gives  out  the  words  just  as  in  the  other 
plan.  The  difference  is  that  in  this  plan,  The  Catch 
when  the  word  is  missed,  the  teacher  Match 
makes  no  indication  to  the  class  of  that  fact.  If  a 
pupil  standing  in  line  notes  that  the  word  is  missed, 
he  may  spell  it,  and  then  all  on  the  opposing  side 
who  have  let  it  pass  must  be  seated. 

In  this  plan,  the  game  is  to  see  who  can  make  the 
highest  score.  No  one  is  seated  till  the  game  is  over. 
One  hundred  points  or  any  other  number  The  Score 
of  points  agreed  upon  may  constitute  a  Match 
game.  Under  this  form,  the  pupils  on  each  side 
must  spell  the  words  that  are  given  to  them  by  the 
other  side.  If  they  spell  each  word  that  is  given, 
they  make  one  point ;  if  they  fail  to  spell  the  word, 
the  side  that  gave  the  word  must  spell  it.  This 
would  give  the  side  that  gave  and  spelled  the  word 
one  point  for  spelling  it;  and  since  the  word  was 
missed  by  the  other  side,  the  side  which  gave  the 


124    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

word  receives  as  majiy  points  as  there  are  letters 
in  the  word.  Illustration:  John  gives  Jack  the 
word  "Constantinople/'  Jack  misses  it.  John 
then  must  spell  his  own  word.  If  he  does,  he 
gets  one  point  for  spelling  it  and  fourteen  points 
because  the  other  side  missed  it,  making  in  all 
fifteen  points. 

The  game  here  is  to  see  if  one  side  can  trip  the 
other  in  the  correct  spelling  of  words  that  have  the 
Homonym  same  sound  but  have  a  different  meaning. 
Match  This  is  a  contest  in  points  —  ten  making  a 
game.  If  the  child  on  one  side  misses,  the  next 
child  on  the  giving  side  must  spell  the  words.  If 
these  words  are  spelled  correctly,  the  side  gains  two 
points  or  as  many  points  as  there  are  homonyms. 
If  less  than  ten  points  are  made  by  one  side,  then 
the  side  having  the  larger  number  of  points  at  the 
close  of  the  lesson  is  the  winner.  Illustration :  — 
Mary  says  to  Jack:  "Jack,  I  have  two  rabbits. 
Mother  says  that  is  too  many.  I  am  going  to  sell 
them."  Jack  gets  his  words  confused.  Susan,  who 
is  next  on  Mary's  side,  takes  up  the  task  and  spells 
them  all  correctly  and  shows  that  she  knows  which 
word  belongs  in  which  place.  She  thus  gains  three 
points  for  her  side,  not  because  she  spelled  them  and 
applied  them  correctly,  but  because  the  other  side 
lost  them. 

The  matches  thus  far  described  are  oral  matches, 
but  oral  matches,  valuable  as  they  are,  have  two 


DEVICES  FOR  TEACHING  SPELLING     125 

great  weaknesses :  first,  they  do  not  give  practice  in 
the  kind  of  speUing  —  written  speUing  —  which  is 
used  in  everyday  Hfe ;  second,  the  number  written 
of  words  spelled  is  very  limited  in  the  oral  ^<^^  Match 
match.  The  child  may  fail  to  get  the  very  word  on 
which  he  should  have  practice.  Written  matches  are, 
therefore,  preferable  in  many  ways.  These  may  be 
arranged  by  rows  in  the  schoolroom  or  by  teams. 
The  children  may  be  sent  to  the  board  or  they  may 
spell  at  their  seats.  If  they  are  sent  to  the  board, 
their  words  can  be  seen  better,  errors  quickly  noted, 
individual  weaknesses  found,  and  words  discovered 
by  each  child  upon  which  practice  is  needed.  The 
team  that  misspells  the  fewest  words  is  winner  of 
the  match. 

Opponents  at  the  board.    The  teacher  starts  the 
match  by  giving  out  a  word.     The  child  who  first 
writes  the  word  correctly  may  choose  the  written 
next  two   spellers   and   assign  the  word,    ^y  ^^^ 
The  winner  chooses  the  next  spellers,  and  so  on. 

The  teacher  announces  a  topic.  The  teams  begin 
and  write  as  many  words  as  they  can  which  relate 
to  the  topic  for  the  period  of  time  allowed.  Topical 
When  the  time  is  up  the  number  of  words  Matches 
correctly  spelled  by  the  groups  are  counted.  The 
side  that  has  the  largest  number  of  correctly  spelled 
words  wins  the  match.  The  misspelled  words  are 
taken  for  a  special  drill  lesson  the  next  time. 

The  same   game   may   be   slightly   changed  by 


126    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

taking  a  given  letter,  prefix,  sufl&x,  or  other  char- 
acteristic and  forming  words  by  using  it. 

The  teacher  wiU  need  to  remember  that  games  are 
the  dessert  and  not  the  regular  meal  of  the  school- 
room. They  will  spoil  the  appetite  not  only  for  the 
substantial  part  of  the  meal,  but  also^f  or  the  dessert 
itself  if  they  are  used  overmuch  or  unwisely. 

SUMMAKY 

Practically  all  principles  are  put  into  operation  through 
some  sort  of  device.  The  principles  of  teaching  spelling 
are  no  exception  to  this  rule.  In  this  chapter  we  have 
discussed  a  number  of  devices  that  classroom  teachers 
have  found  helpful.  These  devices  have  been  classified 
in  the  following  manner : 

1.  Picture  Representations 

2.  Visuahzing 

3.  Guesses 

4.  Rewards 

5.  Old  Games 

6.  Spelling  Matches 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  To  what  extent  do  the  devices  presented  in  this 
chapter  "motivate"  the  study  of  spelling  and  to  what 
extent  do  they  ''sugar  coat"  it?  Justify  or  condemn 
with  the  best  arguments  you  can  present. 

2.  For  what  grades  do  you  feel  that  each  of  these 
devices  is  best  suited  ? 

3.  Try  out  in  your  school  the  various  devices  sug- 
gested. Which  do  you  think  will  work  with  ^the  greatest 
amount  of  satisfaction  and  why? 


DEVICES  FOR  TEACHING  SPELLING      127 

4.  Can  you  take  these  suggested  devices  and  improve 
upon  them  so  that  they  will  better  suit  the  situation  as  it 
exists  in  your  school?  (Try  this.  Your  pupils  will  be 
able  to  give  many  good  suggestions.) 

5.  Of  the  forms  of  the  written  spelling  match  with 
which  you   are   familiar,   which   one  is  best?     Why? 


CHAPTER  VII 

SOME  QUESTIONS  OFTEN  ASKED  BY 
TEACHERS 

1.  /  have  a  child  in  my  school  that  cannot  learn  to 
spelL     What  shall  I  do  with  him  f 

This  is  a  problem  that  several  persons  have 
The  In-  carefuUy  investigated.  The  so-called  in- 
corrigible corrigible  spellers  fall  into  four  groups 
^®  ®^        and  may  be  considered  in  that  way. 

First:  There  is  the  child  that  cannot  learn.  He 
does  not  have  learning  ability.  The  probability 
is  that  if  he  can  learn  anything  he  can  learn  to 
spell.  If  he  cannot  learn  anything  else,  then  you 
cannot  expect  to  teach  him  spelling.  He  is  men- 
tally deficient  and  should  be  referred  to  the  county 
superintendent,  and  the  superintendent  should  see 
that  the  child  is  placed  in  the  kind  of  school  that 
provides  for  his  needs.  Your  school  does  not.  These 
children  are  not  really  problems  for  the  average 
teacher  because  there  are  so  few  of  them  in  school. 
The  teacher  should  be  very  careful  not  to  suggest 
that  a  child  does  not  have  the  ability  to  learn.  Be 
convinced  before  making  such  a  declaration.    When 

128 


QUESTIONS  OFTEN  ASKED  BY  TEACHERS    129 

you  do  make  it,  make  it  to  the  proper  persons  in  order 
to  secure  aid  for  the  child. 

Second:  There  is  the  child  who  is  physically 
handicapped.  Four  out  of  five  among  the  children 
who  have  been  carefully  examined  as  "hopeless 
spellers ' '  have  proved  to  have  defective  eyesight.  If 
the  child  has  mental  ability  but  is  an  exceptionally 
poor  speller,  you  should  have  his  eyes  examined  to 
see  if  they  are  not  the  seat  of  his  difficulty. 

Third:  There  is  the  child  who  has  been  poorly 
taught.  He  is  lacking  ib  precision  and  in  spelling 
pride.  There  is  nothing  wrong  with  his  mind  except 
that  it  is  the  victim  of  bad  habits.  Your  task,  then, 
becomes  one  of  breaking  up  old  habits  and  estabUsh- 
ing  new  ones  that  are  correct.  There  is  a  tendency 
on  the  part  of  teachers  to  "  cast  stones  "  at  their  prede- 
cessors by  blaming  all  of  the  weaknesses  of  the 
children  upon  former  teachers.  If  the  teacher  finds 
a  weakness  in  a  child,  she  should  glory  in  the  oppor- 
tunity that  it  provides  for  her  to  do  a  miracle 
rather  than  fret  about  the  poor  instruction  that  the 
child  has  formerly  received.  ^ 

Fourth:  There  is  the  child  who  is  suffering  from 
poor  instruction  at  present.  The  probability  is 
that  such  children  form  by  far  the  largest  of  the 
four  groups  of  poor  spellers.  If  the  child  spells 
poorly,  the  probability  is  that  the  present  teacher  is 
failing  to  make  the  best  use  of  materials  and  methods. 
The  teacher  should  give  her  own  work  the  closest 


130    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

investigation.  Is  she  failing  to  interest  the  child? 
Is  the  work  too  difficult?  Is  the  material  suitable 
for  him?  Is  he  properly  classified?  Has  he  lost 
faith  in  himself?  Just  what  are  his  limitations? 
These  are  questions  that  the  teacher  should  answer 
before  she  acknowledges  that  the  child  is  a  '^hope- 
less speller." 

2.  My  pupils  can  spell  correctly  when  they  really 
try  hut  in  their  written  work  they  constantly  make 
errors.  They  double  the  wrong  letter,  omit  the  final 
letter,  exchange  the  position  of  letters  in  the  word,  and 
make  a  variety  of  other  inexcusable  mistakes.  Why  do 
they  make  these  mistakes  and  how  can  they  be  cor- 
reeled  ? 

The  greatest  difficulty  with  these  children  is  that 

they    do    not   have   a   spelling    conscience.     They 

must  come  to  feel  that  to  miss  a  word  is  to 

ine 

Careless  commit  a  real  social  offense.  In  order  to 
pel  er  produce  this  feeling  among  these  children 
social  situations  must  be  provided.  They  can 
be  provided  by  tying  up  the  school  life  with  the  real 
life  of  the  community.  Friendly  letters,  notes  of 
invitation,  orders  for  merchandise,  correspondence 
with  children  in  neighboring  cities  and  states,  and 
with  children  in  foreign  lands  will  provide  many 
opportunities  to  awaken  children  to  a  realization 
of  the  necessity  for  correct  spelling.  But  they  must 
come  to  feel  that  it  is  as  important  that  all  the  words 
in  their  letters  to  close  personal  friends  shall  be 


QUESTIONS  OFTEN  ASKED  BY  TEACHERS    131 

spelled  correctly,  as  it  would  seem  to  them  were  the 
letter  written  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
Until  they  have  developed  this  feeling,  they  have  not 
developed  a  spelling  conscience.  They  have  a  social 
conscience  but  not  a  spelling  conscience.  A  spelling 
conscience  will  hurt  them  when  they  misspell  a  word, 
it  matters  not  to  whom  or  for  what  purpose  that 
word  is  written.  They  must  come  to  have  a  regard 
for  the  form  of  the  word  itself. 

Together  with  the  development  of  a  spelling 
conscience  must  come  the  development  of  a  con- 
sciousness on  the  part  of  the  child  as  to  when  a 
word  is  correctly  spelled  and  when  it  is  not.  With 
some  attention  to  this  phase,  the  child  will  soon  come 
to  know  when  a  word  is  correctly  spelled  and  when 
it  is  misspelled. 

In  order  to  train  the  children  to  notice  errors,  the 
teacher  should  require  them  to  look  over  their 
written  work  and  to  mark  all  words  that  they  know 
are  incorrectly  spelled  and  also  those  about  which 
they  are  doubtful.  Some  acceptable  symbol  of  mark- 
ing the  words  should  be  adopted  by  the  school. 

After  these  doubtful  and  incorrectly  spelled  words 
have  been  marked,  the  pupil  should  look  them  up 
in  the  dictionary,  put  them  down  on  his  "black 
list,"  rewrite  them  correctly,  and  keep  them  for 
later  drill.  It  is  only  by  holding  himself  to  strict 
account  that  the  pupil  can  develop  the  consciousness 
of  correctness  or  incorrectness  in   spelling.     If  he 


132    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

is  not  strict  with  himself  he  will  spell  a  word  one 
way  one  time  and  another  way  the  next,  so  that  it 
will  not  be  long  until  he  will  not  know  when  it  is 
wrong  and  when  it  is  right. 

In  this  situation,  the  problem  is  more  serious  than 
it  would  have  been  at  the  beginning.  Here  old 
habits  must  be  broken  and  new  ones  formed.  A 
careful  study  of  the  word,  therefore,  to  see  where  the 
error  occurs,  a  strong  impression  of  the  correct  form, 
attentive  repetition  to  stamp  in  the  correct  form  and 
to  break  the  incorrect  bonds,  and  the  determination 
of  the  teacher  never  to  permit  an  exception  until 
the  new  habit  is  firmly  fixed,  are  the  essential 
factors  with  which  pupils  and  teacher  must  work 
in  overcoming  habits  of  incorrect  spelling. 

3.  What  tests  should  he  given  in  spelling?  How 
should  they  he  conducted  ? 

There  are  four  types  of  tests,  classified  according 
to  purpose.     The  preliminary  test  is  a  test  given 
The  Pr  -     before  the  words  are  taught  to  the  children 
liminary       This  type  of  tcst  has  two  purposes.     It 
^®^*  seeks  to  find  what  children  need  most  in- 

struction and  which  words  are  most  difficult  to 
spell.  The  test  should  be  given  some  time  before 
the  words  are  to  be  taught  so  that  the  impression 
of  the  words  will  have  been  erased  before  the  time 
for  the  teaching.  A  record  should  be  kept  by  the 
teacher  of  the  percentage  of  the  class  who  miss 
each  word.    This  will  reveal  the  relative  difficulty 


QUESTIONS  OFTEN  ASKED  BY  TEACHERS     133 

of  the  words.  She  should  also  keep  a  record  of  the 
percentage  of  the  words  missed  by  each  child. 
This  will  reveal  the  individual  need  of  the  children. 
This  preliminary  test  is  used  most  in  connection 
with  the  Test-Drill  Method  discussed  in  the  chapter 
on  Methods. 

The  test  of  teaching  should  come  after  the  words 
for  the  day  have  been  presented.  It  is  the  daily  test 
of  the  teacher  rather  than  of  the  child,  jj^g^gg^ 
The  reader  will  recall  the  details  of  how  ofXeach- 
the  new  words  were  taught  under  the  "^^ 
Teaching-Study  Method.  The  last  part  of  the 
lesson,  according  to  that  method,  is  to  have  the 
children  write  sentences  in  which  the  words  taught 
occur.  If  these  words  are  correctly  spelled,  then, 
the  teacher  may  feel  that  the  teaching  is  satis- 
factorily done.  If  the  children  do  not  spell  the 
words  correctly  in  the  first  written  application,  the 
teacher  must  blame  herself  instead  of  the  children. 
She  must  see  what  she  has  failed  to  do  in  her  effort 
to  fix  the  order  of  the  letters  in  the  child's  memory 
and  must  endeavor  to  correct  the  defect  in  her 
teaching. 

Review  tests  should  be  given  from  time  to  time  — 
at  the  ends  of  weeks,  months,  semesters,  years. 
The  purpose  of  these  reviews  is  to  test  the  ^ 
child's  retentiveness,  to  recall  the  earlier  Review 
impressions,  to  repair  the  gaps  that  time  "^^^^ 
has  created.    These  review  tests  should  usually  be 


134    GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

in  the  nature  of  games,  contests,  stunts.  This 
will  prevent  the  work  from  becoming  a  bore.  The 
children  will  work  to  win  the  game,  but  the  spelling 
results  will  be  just  as  valuable  as  if  the  spelling  it- 
self were  the  only  goal. 

Standard  tests  have  been  devised  for  the  purpose 
of  comparing  the  spelling  of  children  in  one  school 
^j^  system   with   that   of   those   in   another 

standard  System  or  to  compare  the  children  of  one 
^®^*^  school  building  with  children  in  the  same 

grade  of  another  building  in  the  same  school  system. 
Standards  have  been  worked  out  by  Ayres,  Buck- 
ingham, Ashbaugh,  and  others.  The  teacher 
should  familiarize  herself  with  these.  She  should  test 
her  own  children  according  to  the  directions  given 
on  the  test.  This  will  help  her  to  compare  the 
situation  in  her  school  with  the  standard.  From 
the  results  of  these  tests  she  can  get  some  idea  of 
the  limitations  of  her  pupils.  When  these  are  re- 
vealed, she  should  study  the  pedagogical  litera- 
ture dealing  with  spelling  to  find  suggestions  for 
correcting  the  limitations  which  the  test  has  re- 
vealed. 

4.  In  our  state  each  child  above  the  third  grade  is 
required  to  have  his  own  dictionary.  The  words  for 
the  spelling  lesson  are  assigned  and  each  child  is 
expected  to  look  up  the  words  in  the  dictionary  and 
write  sentences  showing  their  use.  What  do  you  think 
of  the  plan  f 


QUESTIONS  OFTEN  ASKED  BY  TEACHERS     135 

Every  child  able  to  read  it  should  have  a  diction- 
ary. It  should  assist  the  pupil  when  he  wishes  to  use 
words  of  which  he  is  not  sure  of  the  mean-  _      . 

Use  of 

ing  or  spelling.  For  a  very  young  child  to  the  Die- 
get  from  the  dictionary  the  correct  mean-  ^^^^^ 
ing  of  a  word  is  difficult.  It  is  better  for  the 
teacher  to  explain  the  meaning,  illustrate  the  use, 
and  then  ask  the  child  to  use  it  in  sentences  of  his 
own.  To  require  children  to  write  dictionary  defi- 
nitions of  words  as  a  part  of  the  speUing  lesson  is  a 
questionable  procedure. 

The  use  of  the  dictionary  should  be  carefully 
taught  to  the  children  so  that  they  can  consult  it 
quickly  when  they  have  need.  They  should  be  en- 
couraged to  use  it.  It  has  an  important  place  in 
helping  to  build  up  a  spelling  conscience  and  a  spell- 
ing consciousness.  The  children  should  be  led  to 
regard  the  dictionary  as  a  friend  in  times  of  need 
and  not  as  an  instrument  of  torture. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  List  the  special  difficulties  which  you  personally 
have  had  in  your  efforts  to  become  a  good  speller.  What 
particular  discussions  in  this  book  have  applied  to  your 
own  situation? 

2.  List  the  principal  difficulties  which  you  have  en- 
countered as  a  teacher  of  spelling.  Which  discussions 
have  helped  you  most  in  their  solution? 

3.  Are  the  particular  questions  discussed  in  this 
chapter  the  ones  which  you  have  most  often  asked? 


136     GUIDE  TO  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 

What  other  questions  do  you  think  should  have  been 
included? 

4.  List  the  questions  on  speUing  which  are  still  un- 
answered for  you.  Look  carefully  through  the  book  to 
see  if  you  cannot  find  a  satisfactory  answer. 

5.  Do  you  wish  to  make  a  more  extended  study  of 
some  phase  of  the  teaching  of  spelling  ?  If  so,  we  refer 
you  to  the  material  suggested  in  the  bibUography.  ]^'' 


PART  III 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1.  Abbott,  Edwina  E.  —  On  the  Analysis  of  the  Memory  Conscious^ 

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2.  Anderson,  W.  N.  —  The  Determination  of  a  Spelling  Vocabulary 

Based  upon  Written  Correspondence.     Ph.D.  Thesis,  Univer- 
sity of  Iowa,  1917. 

3.  Ashbaugh,  E.  J.  —  A  Spelling  Scale  of  3000  Common  Words. 

University  of  Iowa  Extension  Bulletin,  No.  43,  1918. 

4.  Ayres,  L.  P.  —  The  Puhlic  Schools  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  71-74. 

Russell  Sage  Foundation,  1914. 

5.  Ayres,    L.    P.  —  The   Spelling    Vocabularies   of  Personal   and 

Business  Letters.     Russell  Sage  Foundation. 

6.  Ayres,   L.   P.  —  A   Measuring  Scale  for  Ability  in  Spelling. 

Russell  Sage  Foundation,  1915. 

7.  Bagley,    W.    C.  —  Classroom   Management.      The  Macmillan 

Company. 

8.  Bagley,   W.   C.  —  The   Educative   Process.      The    Macmillan 

Company. 

9.  Baur,  Nicholas.  —  Writing  Vocabulary  of  Pupils  in  the  New 

Orleans  Public  Schools.      Department  of  Superintendence, 
New  Orleans,  1913. 

10.  Bobbitt,  F.  —  What  the  Schools  Teach  and  Might  Teach.    The 

Cleveland  Survey,  1915. 

11.  Brandenberg,    G.    C.  —  The    Spelling    Ability    of    University 

Students.     School  and  Society,  VII,  26-29 ;  1918. 

12.  Buckingham,   B.   R.  —  Buckingham's   Extension  of  the  Ayres 

Spelling  Scale.     University  of  Illinois. 

13.  Buckingham,  B.  R.  —  Spelling  Ability;    Its  Measurement  and 

Distribution.    Teachers  College  Contributions  to  Education, 
No.  59. 

137 


138  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

14.  Burnham,  W.  H.  —  The  Hygiene  and  Psychology  of  Spelling. 

Pedagogical  Seminary,  XIII,  408-501 ;  1906. 

15.  Charters,  W.  W.  —  A  Spelling  Hospital  in  High  School.    School 

Review,  March,  1910. 

16.  Charters,  W.  W.  —  Methods  of  Teaching.    Row,  Peterson  &  Co. 

17.  Charters,   W.   W.  —  Teaching  the  Common  Branches.     Row, 

Peterson  &  Co. 

18.  Colvin,  S.  S.  —  The  Learning  Process.    The  Macmillan  Com- 

pany. 

19.  Cook,  W.  A.,  and  O'Shea,  M.  V.  —  The  Child  and  His  Spelling. 

The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company. 

20.  Cook,  W.  A. —Shall  We  Teach  Spelling  hy  Rule?    Journal 

of  Educational  Psychology,  III,  316-325 ;   1912. 

21.  Cornman,  O.  P.  —  Spelling  in  the  Elementary  Schools.    Psycho- 

logical Clinic. 

22.  Courtis,  S.  A.  —  Teaching  Spelling  hy  Plays  and  Games.    S.  A. 

Courtis,  Detroit,  Michigan. 

23.  Eldridge,    R.   C.  —  Six    Thousand    Common    English    Words. 

R.  C.  Eldridge,  Niagara  Falls,  New  York. 

24.  Freeman,  F.  N.  —  Psychology  of  the  Common  Branches.     Hough- 

ton Mifflin  Company. 

25.  Foster,  W.  T.  —  The  Spelling  of  College  Students.    Journal  of 

Educational  Psychology,  II,  211-215;  1911. 

26.  Hawkins,  C.  J.  — Experiments  on  Memory  Types.    Psychological 

Review,  IV,  289-294;  1897. 

27.  Heilman,  J.  —  Effect  of  Syllabification  on  Learning  to  Spell. 

Unpublished  Study,  Colorado  State  Teachers  College. 

28.  Holmes,  H.  W.  —  Time  Distribution  by  Subjects  and  Grades  in 

Representative  Cities.     Fourteenth  Yearbook  of  the  National 
Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  I,  21-28. 

29.  Horn,    E.  —  Principles   of   Methods   in   Spelling.     Eighteenth 

Yearbook  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education, 
Part  II,  52-77. 

30.  Johnstown,  Pa.,  Public  Schools.  —  The  Teaching  of  Spelling, \1913. 

31.  Jones,  W.  F.  —  Concrete  Investigation  of  the  Materials  of  English 

Spelling.    University  of  South  Dakota,  1913. 

32.  Kendall,  C.  N.,  and  Mirick,  Geo.  A.  — How  to  Teach  the  Funda* 

mental  Subjects.     Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

33.  Kratz,  H.  E.  —  Studies  and  Observations  in  the  School  Room. 

Educational  Publishing  Company. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  139 

34.  Lewis,  E.  E.  —  Spelling  List  for  Use  in  Normal  Training  High 

Schools.     Iowa  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction. 

35.  Longenecker,   Gertrude.  —  The  Teaching  of  Spelling.      State 

Normal  School,  San  Diego,  California. 

36.  Mead,  Cyrus  D.  —  The  Spelling  Ability  of  Plumas  County  Chil- 

dren. Supplement  to  California  Blue  Bulletin,  December,  1919. 

37.  Matthews,  Brander.  —  The  Spelling  of  Yesterday  and  of  To-mor- 

row.   Outlook,  LXXXII,  848-853. 

38.  McMurry,  F.  M.  —  How  to  Study,  83-84.     Houghton  Mifflin 

Company. 

39.  New  Jersey  Department  of  PubUc  Instruction.  —  The  Teach- 

ing of  Spelling. 

40.  Nicholson,  Anne.  —  A  Speller  for  the  Use  of  the  Teachers  of  Cal- 

ifornia.    California  State  Printing  Office,  Sacramento,  1914. 

41.  Owen  Publishing  Co.  —  Methods,  Aids,  and  Devices,  Vol.  I. 

42.  Pearson,  H.  C.  —  Experimental  Studies  in  the  Teaching  of  Spell- 

ing.    Teachers  College  Record,  January,  1912. 

43.  Pearson,  H.  C.  —  The  Scientific  Study  of  the  Teaching  of  Spell- 

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44.  Perry,  A.   C.  —  Problems  of  the  Elementary  School,   171-176. 

D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

45.  Pryor,  H.  C.  —  A  Study  in  the  Psychology  and  Pedagogy   of 

Spelling.     Master's  Thesis,  University  of  Colorado,  1912. 

46.  Pryor,  H.  C.  —  Spelling.     Fourteenth  Yearbook  of  the  Na- 

tional Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  1, 78-89.    1915 . 

47.  Pryor,  H.  C.  —  A  Suggested  Minimal  Spelling  List.     Sixteenth 

Yearbook  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education, 
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48.  Pyle,  W.  H.  —  Outlines  of  Educational  Psychology.     Warwick  & 

York,  Inc. 

49.  Rapeer,  L.  W.  —  Teaching  Elementary  School  Subjects.    Charles 

Scribner  &  Sons. 

50.  Rice,  J.  M.  —  The  Futility  of  the  Spelling  Grind.     Forum,  23 ; 

163-172;  1897. 

51.  Riley,  J.  W.  —  The  Springfield  Tests.     Holden  Company,  Spring- 

field, Massachusetts. 

52.  Rowe,  Stuart  H.  —  Habit  Formation  and  the  Science  of  Teaching. 

Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 

53.  Schwiering,  O.  C.  —  A  Study  in  Grouping  by  Similarity  in  Spell- 

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140  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

64.  Sears,  J.  B.  —  Spelling  Eficiency  in  the  Oakland,  California, 
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55.  Shaw,  Ester  E.  —  Is  Spelling  a  Failure  f    Educational  Review, 

September,  1911. 

56.  Spindler,    F.   N.  —  Memory   Types  in   Spelling.     Education, 

XXVIII,  175-181. 

57.  Starch,  D.  —  Measurement  of  Efficiency  in  Spelling.    Journal 

of  Educational  Psychology,  167-186,  March,  1915. 

58.  Starch,    D.  —  Educational   Measurement,    Chapter   VI.      The 

Macmillan  Company. 

59.  StraubenmuUer,  Gustave.  —  Standards  in  Spelling.     Board  of 

Education,  New  York  City. 

60.  Studley,  C.  K.  and  Ware,  Allison.  —  Common  Essentials  in  Spell- 

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61.  Suzzallo,  Henry.  —  The  Improvement  of  Instruction  in  Spelling, 

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63.  Spelling  in  the  Boston  Public  Schools,  McEvoy  Magazine,  1915. 

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78.  Woolfolk,  Algar.  —  The  Need  of  Intensive  Work  in  Spelling. 

Unpublished  thesis,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 


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